Lots of news today but before I start, you should know we upgraded the version of Movable Type we were using across the Search Engine Roundtable and this blog. The version number change is 3.2.x to 3.3.x, please let me know if you see any weirdness. In the search world we covered topics including the new Yahoo slurp, and also Yahoo Finance being defaced. We discussed how Google sent presents to an unhappy Google Checkout consumer. Google also sent out warnings to some publishers but totally missed the mark. Oh, and if you didn't hear, Google decided to compete with Source Forge. While we are on the topic of Google, you could of purchased Google stock for 39 dollars a piece, due to a technical glitch. Oh, and if you want to learn how Google News works or Google Translate, continue reading. Finally, Google launched the Trends product for China and Microsoft, Yahoo and Google all made the Business Week Top 100 Best Global Brands list.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Yahoo! Launches New Slurp - look at those chompers
   
2. Google Sends Apology & Presents to Unhappy User - does this encourage complaints? :)
   
3. Google Warns AdSense Publishers of Disabling Accounts Due to Invalid Clicks But Gives No Advice - tisk tisk tisk
   
4. Google's Project Hosting; SourceForge Killer? - I guess it makes sense, next a search engine for this stuff
   
5. Google & Webmaster Communications - bottom-line, we are better of today
   
6. We've Upgraded To MT 3.3.x - some things don't work, I know
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Google News Search Engine Explained - pretty nice write up
   
2. Google To Change Arabic Translation Of "Gay" - serious and funny at the same time
   
3. Google Trends Launched In China - what ya say?
   
4. Yahoo Finance Hacked & Defaced - I wonder if this is true, for real
   
5. NASDAQ Error Sends Google's Stock Price Down To $38 - too crazy
   
6. Microsoft, Google & Yahoo Make Business Week's Top 100 Best Global Brands - Go Search!
   

Posted at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I would call myself a wanna be geek, hopefully some people think of me as a geek - but I am not a geek at the level I would like to be. Anyway, geeks tend to have lots of gadgets on them. And traveling via airlines, with the security and metal detectors are never fun. I thought it would be fun to write this entry while on my flight back from STL to LGA today.

How do I prepare for traveling like a geek:
(1) Wear pants with large pockets
(2) Wear a shirt with a breast pocket
(3) Make sure to put essentials in laptop bag
- Bose noise canceling headphones
- Treo 650 charger
- Bloothtooth ear piece
- Laptop charger
- Digital Camera
- Wired and MacWorld magazines
- Airline tickets

Preparing to walk through metal detector
(1) Place all devices from cargo pants into laptop case side pockets
- Throw change in small zipper in laptop bag
- Place bluetooth headset with treo in laptop bag
- Don't forget the digital camera...
(2) Place airline ticket in breast pocket on shirt
(3) Open main laptop zipper to quickly remove laptop from bag
(4) Untie shoes
(5) Loosen belt
(6) Look yourself up and down
(7) Locate a security bucket/bin to place your items in for scanning (preferably two security bucket/bins)

The walk through:
(1) Remove laptop and place in security bucket/bin
(2) Place laptop bag in other security bucket/bin
(3) Put belt and shoes in same bin with laptop case (or a third one)
(4) Remove airline ticket from breast pocket
(5) Make eye contact with airport security man/woman
(6) On queue smile and walk through scanner
(7) Pray nothing buzzes

Post walk through:
(1) Laptop goes back in laptop case and remove security bucket/bin from desk
(2) Remove items from laptop case (camera, treo, bluetooth ear piece, change, etc.)
(3) Close laptop case and move next to you on side
(4) Put on belt
(5) Put items back in pockets (change, etc.)
(6) Remove remaining items from bin and place on the side
(7) Put on shoes
(8) Scan area for remaining items
(9) Grab laptop case and any other items
(10) Continue to gate, keep eyes pealed for seat with nearby electrical outlet and wifi signs

That is what goes through my head prior and during the process of passing security at the airports.

Oh, I don't like to wear watches in general - so one less item.

Posted at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (32) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Sometimes, when the track pad is moist from the moisture in the air, the moisture on my fingers or just some heat, the mouse control is unbearable. Just before writing the entry before this one, the whole entry was deleted because of a track pad issue, accidently hitting the refresh button at the top of the window, when I was pointed at the middle of the screen window.

Normally, I dry my fingers and the track pad and it fixes itself. But sometimes I need to reboot the computer. This is one of those times.

Anyway, I hope the new MacBook Pros don't have this issue. I suspect when the developer conference happens the second week of August, the new MacBook Pros will be released and then I will be able to purchase the 2nd generate MacBook Pro. A stage of MacBooks that I have been waiting for before making the purchase.

I have this thing where I try not to buy a first generate laptop from Apple. Let the first batch of consumers, early adopters - you may say, work out all the bugs, kinks and quirks with the V1s and then let me buy the V2. I hope the V2 MacBook Pros have a black version, like the MacBooks do. I may be crazy enough to spend a few more dollars just to get it in black.

Ok, and I hope they fixed the track pad issues.

Posted at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs , Computers | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Yea, I thought we were almost done but then we came back to my in-laws this week, unplanned, and found more items that need to be brought back to New York or returned. So that means we need to dig out some more sometime over the next week or so.

I am just not sure how we are going to bring all this stuff back. But to be honest, I haven't even looked at the stuff here - so I'll let my wife worry about it for now.

Back to the daily grind tomorrow, normalcy.

Posted at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Slow day for me in terms of writing about search topics. I did post about five items and here they are. I discussed Yahoo's link map tool, a new Google filter being talked about, and Google's approved 90 million dollar approved settlement. We also covered that Yahoo launched a new web crawler that is more efficient and how to also speed up your page loads, if they have AdSense on them.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Webzari: Yahoo!'s Link Mapping Tool - really cool tool
   
2. Google's Two Word Keyword Filter? - the next craze?
   
3. Google's $90 Million Click Fraud Settlement Approved - 500 more to go
   
4. Speeding Up Page Loads When Google AdSense is On the Page - smore tips
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Yahoo Launches New Slurp Crawler - more efficient is nice.
   
2. See Danny's headlines - didn't have much blog time today
   

Posted at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Via /. it appears that "Jani Taskinen, one of the lead developers of the Zend Engine (the engine that powers PHP)" has left due to some political reasons in the community. Check out this message:

Thank you all for the last 6 years or so. It has been fun (sometimes) and many times not so much fun. Unfortunately I have had enough and I don't want to be associated with this project anymore.

I'm sure most people (the ones who matter) can understand why. If someone doesn't, I could not care less. Take care.

Please do not reply to this email.

--Jani

p.s. Delete my CVS account. I have no use for it anymore.

Now that is harsh, very harsh. To give six years of your life, and to feel that your contributions were not noted, well - that would explain such an email. I am sure it is deeper then this.

Posted at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Category: Web Development | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

So as you know, I am in St. Louis this week. We drove by this Amoco station, which is now a BP station and I was amazed by the size of this sign. I had to come back to the camera, so I did. Look at how big this sign is. It must be some sort of landmark for the Amoco sign to remain while the station has been converted to the BP brand.

It seems like I am not the only one fascinated with this Amoco sign. Seems like many others tagged pictures at Flickr with the keywords amoco and some even with amaco but many of the images are of this particular station.

The station is named Hi-Pointe Amoco, St. Louis, MO and is located at the corner of Skinker and Clayton in St. Louis, Missouri. I have posted more pictures of it at Flickr.

Posted at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Motor Vehicle | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Today in search, I personally covered topics on Google AdWord geo specific ads, Google AdWords quality score ideas, Google search rankings update and if Google was down or not. In addition we discussed more annoyances with Yahoo Search Marketing, them partnering with British Telcom and a very cool new Yahoo link analysis tool. Microsoft hired over ten thousand new employees last year, Baidu makes a deal with HP to compete with Dell and Google in China. And the French courts ban a Google Maps mashup developed by Green peace.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google AdWords Shows Local Info When Asked - geo geo geo
   
2. Improving Your Google AdWords Quality Score Revisited - very nice stuff Jen
   
3. Were All of Google Properties Down Last Night? - ouch
   
4. Google Search Results Shifting Again - oh no, or is this a good one?
   
5. Only Way to Turn Off Auto Pay With Yahoo! Search Marketing is Via Phone - annoying
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Yahoo Launches Visual Link Map Tool Named Webzari - very cool stuff
   
2. Microsoft Hires Over Ten Thousand Employees In Past Year - wow, lots of hires
   
3. Yahoo Partners With British Telecom For Yahoo Local UK - nice move
   
4. French Court Preventing Greenpeace France From Displaying Crop Data On Google Maps - kinda funny
   
5. Baidu To Be Default Engine On All HP Computers Ship To China - HP versus Dell
   
6. Changes Spotted In Google Search Results - Check your rankings
   
7. Google The Musical Coming Soon - lawsuit pending? :)
   

Posted at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I often get emails from spammers (marketers) saying that they can rank my site in the top results (like I want that). I delete them or they get caught by my spam filters. But this is the first email, I remember, getting from MarketSmart Interactive, you know, aka Keywords Ranking, aka WebSourced. Here it is word for word:

Subject Good Morning:

I hope all is well.

I undestand the market today is a challenging place to complete, so wouldn’t it be great to know everything about your competition and what you need to do to compete and move ahead of them. I would love to discuss what you are doing to resolve some of your concerns, go over some of your goals, and learn more about the business model that you are using and if its focused on selling into and through resellers or one of the other avenues. Also I would love to talk about what you are doing to increasing your conversion rate, driving traffic to your website or event, or getting a higher rank in Google among your industry. Do you have any time this week or next to talk a little bit about these concerns?

MarketSmart Interactive creates synergistic interactive experiences that can effectively change your target audience’s online experience and behavior.

We're justifiably proud of our reputation as a Publicly Traded Marketing Firm (THK)for providing breakthrough thinking, innovative solutions and solid results. It has landed us some of the world's most admired companies such as Motorola, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Sketchers, Black and Decker, Dewalt and Citi Financial among hundreds of others.

Our core solutions include, but are not limited to:
Organic Search Engine Optimization
Media Buys and Email Marketing
Conversion Enhancement
Competitive Intelligence
Paid Search/Sponsorship Marketing
Usability/ Behavioral Targeting
Linking Strategies
Affiliate Marketing

Bill Ross
National Marketing Executive
MarketSmart Interactive, a Think Partnership Company
http://www.marketsmartinteractive.com
Direct Line: 919-433-3024
Fax: 919-433-3030

Has such a large firm, with such a huge and proud reputation, not know who I am? I would hope that those involved in search, day in and day out, would recognize my name, the company name, etc... I do write about this stuff all day at two pretty popular search blogs.

This is just sad to see from a company that I once had respect for.

Posted at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (34) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Today we covered that Google is not displaying "invalid clicks" on your AdWords reports. Shawn goes against the Motion Picture Association of America and more. We document the Yahoo "Save To My Web" button on Yahoo! Directory pages. Microsoft conducts focus groups while Google plays on their Google Jet with fake Google Toolbars wandering around the Web.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Shows Advertisers Their "Invalid Clicks" in AdWords Reports - pretty good, pretty good
   
2. Yahoo! Adds "Save To My Web" Feature to Yahoo! Directory - is this even new?
   
3. DigitalPoint Forums Estimated AdSense Earnings: $15,000 Per Month - so happy for Shawn
   
4. Microsoft Conducting adCenter Focus Groups - nice of them to care
   
5. Shawn Hogan, CEO of DigitalPoint, Battles with the Motion Picture Association of America - really good for him
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Online Ad Spend 9% Of All Ad Spend By 2011 - watch out world
   
2. Google Toolbar Look-Alike Installing Malicious Programs - be careful
   
3. FAA Safety Instructions For The Google Jet - funny
   

Posted at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Email is extremely powerful, it is the most used product in the online world, but many people simply don't know how to use it. This post will be my rant on how people don't properly use the reply versus the reply all button.

When to Use the Reply All:
When you get an email that is copied to many people and where all parties can benefit from your response, you should use the reply all. For example, someone is scheduling a meeting and it involved five parties. If one person replies all that they cannot make it, then the others know they need to wait for the host to reschedule. Other examples are when you are asking for feedback on a project that several people are working on. There are tons of good examples when this should be used.

When Not to Use the Reply All:
On an email chain, when you forward a joke to your 100 friends. Do not reply all to that email, it will start a swarm of unwanted and time wasting remarks about a joke email. No one has the time or the patience to get these responses. Also, when you are BCCed on an email, typically, the reply all button should be disabled in these cases. To reply all when you are BCCed undermines the one who BCCed you.

Now the same applies above, just in the reverse for when to reply direct to an email.

There is my rant.

Posted at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

My wife and I made it to St. Louis. We have a funeral to attend tomorrow afternoon. It is a sad day but thank god all immediate family members are doing well.

We appreciate all the emails and such left for us.

We are really OK and thanks again for the support.

We don't get back until Sunday. I hope to take share some of the more joyous and happy parts of the trip with everyone. Right now, we will see. But I hope to keep my wife in good spirits this week, if that is possible.

Good night,

Barry

Posted at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Category: Family | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Wasn't able to contribute too much today to the search community today. I am sorry, I hope to be able to do more tomorrow, but I suspect with what is going on, tomorrow may be slow also. Thursday and Friday should be better and Monday I should be back in the groove.

So what happened in the world of search, in terms of what I personally covered?

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Yahoo! Hires Database Expert for Social Search Development - very exciting news
   
2. Ranking Effects of Switching To a New IP Address - practical stuff
   
3. Microsoft adCenter Daily Stats Back To Normal - finally, hope it sticks.
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Yahoo & Symantec To Offer "New Security Offerings" - turns out to be boring
   
2. Yahoo Invests In Social Search Research - see above, again, huge fan
   

Ben and Kim Krause pitched in at the Roundtable today. Ben has an excellent expert commentary on a featured WebmasterWorld thread, he titled Does Your Domain Name Pass The "Billboard Test"? and also a post on the new Google Maps for Mobile Adds Traffic Information, which I hope to test out a bit. Kim plays football with DNS configurations in her post DNS Redirect, Alias, 301, CNAME and Football.

SEW blog rolls along with some really outstanding posts on Google Maps Mobile, an outstanding review by Jen on the new AdWords quality landing page factors, and a supposedly Abridged Version on the Google independent click fraud report.

Good stuff in general. Expect some great stuff tomorrow from Ben, Chris and possibly some guest authors. I hope to be able to post some items in the morning also.

Posted at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I may not be providing this roundups the remainder of the week. I had a sudden emergency and I need to be with family during this time. I and my family are OK and well.

Google Images update, so expect some drop (only drop) in referrals from that. Split on the Yahoo Search update, that continues to happen. Google is heard in court over click fraud, this time they come armed with a independent report backing them. Google's tests a new interface and also enabled rich text on Google Base pages. SEOMoz teaches SEOs how to price campaigns, and for the rest, Yahoo pays YPNers for surveys. We also discuss link baiting, parties and a new keyword report.

Here is my coverage for the day:

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Huge Drops in Google Image Search Referrals Over Weekend - Did you notice the drop in your stats?
   
2. Google's Click Fraud Efforts Are "Reasonable" - as I said Friday, this is a good thing
   
3. Yahoo! Search Update Continues - some are upset, some are happy
   
4. Yahoo! Publisher Cashing in on Surveys - money, money, mooooneeyyy
   
5. Is Link Baiting Frowned Upon by Search Engines? - no it is not
   
6. SES San Jose '06 Party Thread - sorry Joe ;-)
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Google Test Expandable "More" Link - pretty neat
   
2. SEOMoz Spills The Beans On Pricing An SEO Campaign - extremely useful, extremely
   
3. Judge Hears Objections To Google's Click Fraud Settlement - should be interesting...
   
4. Google Base Becomes More eBay Like With Rich Text Feature - annoying
   
5. Only 11 Percent Of Searchers Use One Word Queries - Very interesting data...
   

Posted at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I never used to take pictures, really never. But after getting married, things change - oh yea, you think you won't change but some things do. My brother and sister-in-law got me a Canon camera, small, quick, and has some cool features. So now I take a lot more pictures. Deal is, family and friends want to see the pictures and I don't want to email them all over.

So I signed up the with up and coming photo sharing service, Flickr. Flickr has tons of cool features, all my buddies use it, including Danny Sullivan, David Naylor, Tim Mayer. Yahoo bought them, yes, Yahoo has its own photo service named Yahoo! Photos. My brother uses Yahoo! Photos. But Flickr is Web 2.0, how can I go with anything else, they have tags and tons of AJAX features - common!

Getting non-tech savvy family members to sign up with Flickr is a pain! I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with my in-laws helping them sign up. My wife, well, I gave up with her.

To sign up with Flickr, you need to be invited to view photos. Then you need to decide if you ever signed up with Flickr in the past. If you have, was it before or after Yahoo bought them? If it was before, then try to remember your Flickr password, if it was after then you need to remember your Yahoo and Flickr passwords! If you didn't sign up, then you need to sign up first with Yahoo and then with Flickr.

Heck, everyone once upon a time signed up with Yahoo. So then you must remember your Yahoo ID and password. But no one does. So you sign up with Yahoo again, damn that ID has been taken, I took it, but I don't remember my password. So you make up a new ID that you won't remember. Then after you fill out all your info, you need to give them secret password recovery tips and enter in a security access code (what is that?). Finally, you created a Yahoo! account!!!!

Continue to view pictures at Flickr. Please sign up with Flickr the screen blinks at you! No!!! New Flickr account name and password need to be given. Finally, I think, you have a Flickr account.

Then explaining how to navigate to the photos you just put up. Um, I'm tired. And I bet this post doesn't even read well, being that I typed it within 3 minutes.

Yahoo, Tim, Flickr? Can we check off images from our collection and click "email to friend" like the other photo sharing services have?

Posted at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Category: Family | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I have this old time client, I believe most of those in the company believe the Web is an important part to their business. But there are some decision makers that feel that the Web does not deserve any investment on the company's part. They do not want to spend any money to upgrade their site, improve their rankings, sell online or mend their online reputation (which is pretty bad).

Several months back, possibly a year ago, I met with them to give them a list of low cost options they can implement to solve one of the many Web issues they have, their online reputation. Since then, the company created a blog at one of those free hosted blog sites. To give them credit, they update the blog once a month, but since it is located at this free hosted blog space, it does not rank too well. Their online reputation is as bad as it was when we first met, a year ago.

Now internally, I am told, they are having conversations with several of the management to figure out how to improve their online reputation. I.e. removing or pushing down the bad listings for their company name in the search results, specifically in Google. They play with the idea of getting free banner ads from newspapers they advertise heavily in. They get the ad space was free, but they spent time creating the banner ad, they spent a "favor" with the paper to get the as space, but they (1) linked it to the number one listed site (their own) which won't push down the bad listings and (2) the ad is linked through redirect after redirected link and (3) it is an image ad.

So the management spends more time discussing if this will work. Possibly 20 hours between all of them over the year (I am sure it was more than that). 20 hours of their time may be equated to $300 per hour, so lets say $6,000. Plus the favor they called for from the newspaper, no idea how to quantify that, let's say $800. Plus any banner ads and creatives they spent time creating, lets say $200. So figure about $7,000 is lost time.

Ok, now how to we calculate two years of having a few negative pages rank well for the company name? How much in lost dollars for people searching on the company prior to buying the product? How much? The Overture tool shows that about 700 searches are done each day for the company name. So let's say fifty-percent are prospective customers, 350 people per day. Then let's say thirty-percent of those would buy from the company, heck they are searching for the company name, so they are probably more likely to be in "the buy mode" then searching on the product category type, so we have 105 people.

105 people each day are ready to buy from the company but search on the company name prior to buying. Now, of the 105 who search, how many of them are likely to buy the product if the 3rd listing's title says something very negative about them? Let's be nice at say five percent are still willing to buy. That is 5.25 people buying the product each day, that is about 100 less orders per day from Internet savvy people (which is increasing).

Let's say the average product sells for $1,000 (I think that number is about right). That is a loss of $100,000 per day. 365 days per year make it out to $36,500,000 loss in revenue per year? Doubt it is that high but you get the picture.

Spend 0.0005 percent of the lost revenue over the year on your Web initiative. See what happens...

Invest those 20 hours of lost management time on your Web initiative. See what happens...

That is my rant for the day. :)

Posted at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

After a long five hours of digging we have finally put most of everything away. This is what remains.

- Items to return placed in wife's car for whenever....hopefully I won't have to go to the store
- Items in a bedroom waiting to be put in closet
- Boxes by door, ready to be thrown in a dumpster

So, I figure within another 7 to 14 days, everything should be nicely put away.

Now, we need to go out and get a new dresser or two. We had some issues with the ones we brought over from a previous home. :)

Posted at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Category: Homey , Shopping | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I have been covering the topic of "online reputation management" for a while now, the most recent post I have on it was named Personal Reputation Management: The Reactive Approach. I feel it is important for pretty much everyone to track what people are saying about them. I have been doing this for years with RSS news & blog searches for a while. I have to be honest, I stopped reviewing blog results and pretty much focused only on news results.

How do this work? Simple.

(1) Go to Google News and Yahoo! News.
(2) At each, enter in your full name and hit search (you can use quotes if you like, I do both)
- Google News Results for Barry Schwartz
- Yahoo! News Results for Barry Schwartz
(3) Each respective news engine has a little "RSS" link, copy and paste that URL into your RSS reader
(4) Presto, instant personal reputation management solution.

This is often how I find out if and where I have been quoted.

In the world of Barry Schwartz news results, you often find either myself come up or this Professor Barry Schwartz, sometimes you get the Calvin Klein and sometimes you get some others, but mostly myself and this professor who wrote a very popular book, Paradox of Choice and he was actually invited to Google to speak on the topic.

Anyway, I am writing this post to gather the places I have been quoted, in terms of major news sites. I am sure I missed a few places, but these are the recent ones I am aware of.

1. News.com - July 11, 2007
2. Reuters - Jul 21, 2006
3. The Street - Jul 19, 2006
4. Forbes - Jun 26, 2006
5. CIO - March 29, 2006
6. CNN Money - March 28, 2006
7. News.com - December 2, 2005
8. News.com - August 31, 2005
9. Publish - August 24, 2005

Plenty of more quotes from News.com, eWeek and similar magazines. There are others, but I can't find them now. Just shows you, I should keep better track of them.

Oh, you can see I am procrastinating today.

Posted at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

The constant digging out of stuff you accumulate is never fun. Yea, I told you about how I love to return stuff, but yea, we still have a room filled with boxes of stuff we either need to return or put away. It has been a slow process.

Last night, we moved the final items out of Yisha's old place and into our place. Well, we moved it out of Yisha's place but now it is sitting in our SUV waiting to be brought into our place. It is like never ending.

So today, after I finish up at the office, I will be moving things again. It could be worse, it could be a move from a home we lived in for like 50 years then into a new one. If we (well, really she) accumulated this stuff over 25 years or so, then imagine an other 25 years of stuff. Not looking forward to it.

Ok, gotta get finished with work so I can start putting things away again. Fun fun!

Posted at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Today in the search news I covered topics from Wall Street to Wild Fire Real Time Databases. I covered the second quarter revenue reports from Google and Microsoft. I also wrote about AdWords getting back a positive report that called their click fraud detection practices to be "reasonable." Plus if you are in the AdWords quality hole, read some tips we posted below. If you get screwed and you're an SEO, you can screw them back. Oh, let's not forget that you can learn those tips by reading our Search Engine Strategies coverage on August 7th. Plus more, check below.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. San Jose Coverage Now Posted - over here
   
2. Ask Adds RSS Smart Answers - very cool feature, way too smart!
   
3. SEOs Are Powerful: They Can Blackmail You - don't mess with us!
   
4. Cre8asite Forums Down? - we're back up!
   
5. Google AdSense Released Site Diagnostic Tool - useful tool, in many ways
   
6. Google More Than Doubles Profit - money, money money ayyy
   
7. Improving Your Google AdWords Quality Score - most important post of the day
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Google Announces Great Second Quarter Results - from last night
   
2. Google Adds RSS To Google Base Results - I am told it was there since mid-May, at least
   
3. Site Diagnostics Tab Added to Google AdSense Console - yes, it is that useful
   
4. Google Finance Leaks Version Two Information - too funny, borg! scrooge!
   
5. Microsoft's MSN Revenue Declined 3% Year Over Year - but wait until you compare next year
   
6. More 3D Maps, an iTunes Video Podcast Directory, .CA Goes Mobile & Wildfires Database: Specialty Search Wrap Up - lots of goodies here
   
7. Independent Report: Google Click Fraud Detection Practices Are "Reasonable" - good for Google, good for advertisers (advertisers, read that report in detail!
   

Posted at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Every so often I park in a spot with no cars around me. But then I get back to my car and it is surrounded with other cars. Ok, so that is expected. But why, why, why park so close to me that I can barely open the drivers door, to get in to the car.

This just happened to me, when I stepped out of the office an hour ago.

Look at how small the space was between me (sitting in the car) and the car next to me.

I barely fit, barely. I know I not a small guy, but still - come on!

If I know you and this is your car, then this is a joke - just playing. ;-)

Posted at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

My brother-in-law sent me this after confirming that this billboard is actually up on 54th and 7th in Manhattan, New York.

Now that is too funny.

Don't mess with smart & witty women. But more importantly, don't cheat on your wife.

Posted at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

As a wedding present, a group of my friends, who I play basketball with, bought me the Brinkmann Pro Series 4400 Gas Grill. The thing is huge, it has four burners and then an extra one on the side for a pan. Here is a partial spec:

• Four cast iron 15,000 BTU burners
• 60,000 BTU main burner output
• 630 square inches or primary grilling area for a total of 810 square inches
• 12,000 BTU cast brass side burner
• Stainless steel and aluminum construction
• Porcelain coated cast iron cooking grates

I used it once, couldn't fill up the grill, it was so big. But when I invite the guys over for a BBQ, then I know I will use all the space on this puppy.

Thanks guys for the grill! It is really sweet!

Posted at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Category: Buddies | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

You know what really annoys me? People who update their posts without describing what they update. Now, of course, doing this once in a while is not a big deal. But to do this constantly, argghhhh.

I am a huge RSS reader. I read something once, I don't want to see it again. But when you update your posts, the RSS reader marks it as new, and shows it to me again. If you do not add a postscript or update, clearly to the post, then please don't update the post. Of course is there is a glaring error, fix it and say so.

My rule of thumb, once I post it, there is a 3 minute rule. No updating posts after three minutes unless I add something significant. And if I do, then mark what was updated.

Just one of my pet peeves. Watch, now everyone I know will be updating their posts, by adding a period or comma, just to mess with me.

Posted at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I went to 7-11 this morning to pick up a quick bite. I bought this 32oz Snapple and paid for it. Then I walked out, still very tired, and it slipped out of my hand. I call this Snapple the leaning tower of Snapple.

Check out the lean on that Snapple. Compare it with Leaning Tower of Pisa and you will see, Snapple has a lot to do with Italy.

It actually tastes pretty good. Dropping it helped mix all those "natural lemon flavors with other natural flavors." Mmmm mmmm "Made from the best stuff on Earth," well yea.

Posted at 6:54 AM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Diverse day in search news today. I covered lots of different news from include Yahoo partnering with Motorola - now that is a light bulb idea, Microsoft's search engine goes down, and the ads are slow so they tell Google we want your competition. Also, we look at Google AdWords Quality score again, we look at Google's exchange rate woes, a labs project that makes Google search more accessible to the visually impaired, and we look at Google Bench ads. Just added, Ask RSS Smart Answers & Google refinement pull down menus.

Click on the play button above to hear a custom roundup news message, this time with my real voice.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. The Yahoo! Light Bulb: Similar Searches - Ah ha!
   
2. Pausing & Resuming Microsoft adCenter Ads Dangerously Slow - this is completely out of hand!
   
3. Google Won't Budge on Exchange Rate: What Can You Do? - I can't figure out why Google doesn't want to spill the beans
   
4. Those Not Hit By Google's New AdWords Landing Page Quality Score - good to know who is doing well
   
5. Reports of MSN Search Being Down - where did ya go?
   
6. Inactive Keywords May Show on Google's Content Network - old stuff I guess, but still, interesting
   
7. Google Selling Ads on Benches? Google Bench Ads? - I was wrong, but I was tired
   
8. Introducing the Cartoon Barry Blog - that's me!
   
9. Google Adds Drop Downs To Co-Op Topics Refine Results - never seen that before.
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Google Behind Others, Again, Catching TagJag's New Name - this weirdness happens often
   
2. Motorola To Add Yahoo Go for Mobile On Phones - smart move Yahoo!
   
3. Microsoft Says Vista & Other Operating Systems Will Allow Search Engine Choice - again, this is a smart move on Microsoft's part
   
4. Amnesty International Asking Users To Pressure Google, Yahoo & Microsoft Over China Policies - tired of politics, really am
   
5. Google Won't Reveal Details Of AdWords Exchange Rates - duplicate but worthy
   
6. Google Scholar Trademark Case Settled Out Of Court - ok, we give up
   
7. Google Labs Launches Accessible Web Search - I am sure they are not the first, but it is Google, whipie!!!
   
8. Ask.com Adds RSS Smart Answers - doesn't work 100%, but good enough for now
   

Posted at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I cannot express how proud I am with everyone at my company with the launch of TOKYOPOP today. Honestly, I was a bit concerned starting this project due to the deadline but we got it done on time and done in RustyBrick style.

This site is the first of its kind in the Manga community. It bridges together the books and videos TOKYOPOP sells and at the same time has a huge user generated content drive.

This is like a little MySpace or Yahoo! 360, but focused around the extremely popular Manga topic. In Japan it is huge, in the US it is growing rapidly.

My guys worked incredibly hard on this. It was a great team effort. I am so proud! Great work!

If you have some time, check it out, it was just launched a few minutes ago at http://www.tokyopop.com/.

Posted at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1) (1)

What is my typical work day look like? Good question. Here it is.

5:45AM the alarm bell rings. I wake up right away and check email. Then do the morning stuff.
6:00AM leave home to do some religious stuff
6:30AM - 6:45AM I come back home and say goodbye to wife and off to work
7:00AM I am at work and begin research and blogging at the Search Engine Roundtable
8:00AM I hope to be finished with the Roundtable and then move on to Search Engine Watch Blog
9:00AM I get down with real business and work with RustyBrick stuff most of the day
11:30AM Tuesdays - Fridays, if I am in the office, I try to catch the Daily Search Cast
12:00PM - 6:00PM I work and also may do some blogging at various blogs
6:00PM I try to leave around now, sometimes I don't until later
6:15PM I get home and turn computer back on to work. Some nights I play basketball, some I help around the house, some I sit in front of TV with my laptop and girl. :)

Sleep, I try before midnight.

Posted at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Last night, my wife and I came how from work about the same time, and she asked me if I wanted to return some of the items we got from our gift registry to Crate & Barrel. I immediately said OK, but then I thought, um, is this just returning? I wanted to spend the time with Yisha but I didn't want to shop. Anyway, I went.

Part of the deal was that I can pick up food from a place I like to eat at, in that area. So we went there first, she drove from the restaurant while I ate the chicken. I ate it with my fingers and made a mess in the car, but the food was well worth it.

Anyway, we arrived at Crate & Barrel and walked in to return things. Took about 15 minutes or so to return everything, we got store credit. I personally do not like store credit, because that means there is a reason to go back to the store. Guess what? We decided to browse the store while we were there. We found a few things and then marched towards the register. On the way, my wife asked a lady for suggestions for something. She recommended we go to Ikea -- eeek!!!

We pay, pull out of the store and go to Ikea. Now, I don't know if you guys have ever been to an Ikea. If you go in, it will take you at least 30 minutes to get out. They force you to walk through almost every department, oh yea, they have shortcuts but ...

Anyway, I really hate shopping in stores. Thank god for the internet!

Posted at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I want a place to speak my mind, talk about things search and not-search related. Heck, if I want to blast Google for doing something but give them real attitude, I can do it here. Heck, if I disagree with Danny at Search Engine Watch, I can do that here also. If I had a bad day, I can whine about it over here. If I want to share fun experiences with the world (if they care) I can do it here. The list goes on, this is my personal blog, but it also will contain recaps of what I did in the search world today in the Daily Search Coverage category. In addition, I may give some SEO or SEM tips that I feel are not appropriate for the SEW or SER blogs I write at. ;)

All in all, I want to write what I want to write and not have to worry about what people want to hear. Don't get me wrong, I love the other two blogs, I enjoy it a ton. But, sometimes, I have things to say that don't fit in those blogs.

Welcome to the Cartoon Barry Blog, where Cartoon Barry can speak his mind.

P.S. It makes it easier to speak your mind if you use a cartoon as a mask.

Posted at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (15) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Welcome to the first edition of the Daily Search Coverage at the Cartoon Barry Blog. I wanted to have a centralized location to place all the stories I covered at the different blogs I write at. Plus I may share some SEO and SEM tips for you here on occasion. So what happened today in the search industry?

To listen to Cartoon Barry, click the play button below my feet.