Here is another interview with me and Mike. Really enjoy these.

The weather was outstanding. While it was below freezing and rainy in NY. Santa Clara was sunny and 70s.

Posted at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

SMX is over. Google Webmaster Tools as iGoogle Gadgets. Info Operator messed up? Here is what to do. Google launches Google Sites. Prepay AdWords accounts may have issues. Google to add live video streams to YouTube this year. Is IAC dumping their search technology? Happy Leap Day!

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. SMX West 2008 Conference Coverage Recap
2. Get Google Webmaster Tools on iGoogle as Gadgets
3. Wrong Site Appearing for Google Info Operator Command?
4. Happy Leap Year Day: Google Frogs & We Leap
5. Google's JotSpot Acquisition Relaunches as Google Sites
6. Several Google AdWords Prepay Accounts Offline

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. YouTube To Add Live Video This Year
2. IAC Ready To Drop Ask.com Search Technology & Partner With Google?

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 29th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 29th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 28, 2008, Search Engine Land
• ? 21 billets du mois de Février 2008, www.outil-referencement.com
• Google Page Rank Update - Is it real or fake?, The Translator World
• Google Webmaster tools now on iGoogle homepage!, Sajal Kayan
• Link Building this Week (09.2008), Wiep.net
• PageRank Update - Beware Of Link Exchange Offers, Andy Beard
• Search Headlines & Links: February 28, 2008, Search Engine Watch Blog
• Search Marketing Expo West, February 2008, Day 3, PageTraffic SEO Blog
• SEO und die Schreibweise, Bandscheiben-Blog
• SMX West Session Coverage - Key Takeaways, SearchRank Blog

Posted at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

I just had a surge of energy, after being up since 4am PST or 7 EST yesterday. So that is 31 hours of up time, with a little nap on the plane.

I am up until at least 8:30pm, so that would make it almost 40 hours of up time.

About 20 minutes ago I felt very awake and alive. As I began writing this entry, I started to get sleepy.

I can't believe I said okay to flying back to San Jose in less than two weeks and red eye'ing back the night after.

Posted at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (0) (0)

I think I got an hour or maybe even two on the flight back from San Jose to New York last night. Yes, I am writing this while on the plane. I rarely sleep on planes but I am extremely happy with the hour or so.

So my plan for today:

- Land safely at 5:50am
- Get to my car (I hope it is there in one piece) at 6:20am
- 45 minute drive home (need to stay awake while driving)
- Say hi to wife at 7am
- Pray 7:15am
- Emails
- Get to office by 8am
- Work forum threads and blog at SER as quickly as possible
- RSSes and stuff for SEL and blog
- Catch up on RB work
- Etc. Etc.
- Leave work at about 4 or 5
- Get Ready for Shabbos
- Go to synagogue
- Come home and eat
- Go to sleep by 8:30pm
- Wake up at 8:30am

Right now it is 5:10am (EST), I hope we start our way downwards soon...

Live now

Before posting this... I landed on time, and actually got to the office at 7:30am, so ahead of schedule.

Posted at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google updates webmater tools links. Microsoft fixes adCenter dynamic keyword feature. Google doesn't like obituaries. Google is now case sensitive. Google Sites launches. SMX West is now over and we have tons of coverage.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Finally Updates Webmaster Tools External Link Data: February 2008 Update
2. Microsoft adCenter's Fixes Dynamic Keyword Feature
3. Obituaries Are Not Wanted in Google News
4. Upper Case & Lower Case Searches May Return Different Google Search Results

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Sites Launches: Replaces Jotspot With Team Sharing Software
2. SMX West Day Three Coverage

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 28th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 28th, 2008:

• CaSe SeNsiTivE Search Results within Google!, thedocblog.com
• Comparing SMM SEO and PR Tactics is Pure Poppycock, Micro Persuasion
• SMX West Day Two Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Statistiche sui motori di ricerca da SMX Santa Clara California 26-28 Febbraio, 2008, Achille

Posted at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Jeffrey Rohrs are I have a thing about meeting up in transit between the hotel and convention center. Last night, before the Google Grove we met up and he told me he wanted to have a chat with the Virtual Concierge at the Hyatt. I was like, "what?"

We walk up to a desk and this woman named Anna is looking at us through a wide plasma screen. Jeffrey says hello and she responds, we hear her through the speakers on the desk. We then begin asking her questions. I can't remember the order of the questions but they are assorted from:

• Are you real? Yes, she is.
• Where are you based? Just 80 miles away.
• How did you come up with the idea? She hated the commute and she convinced her bosses that this is a good idea
• When did she start doing this? About 7 years ago
• What are the most common questions she gets? The ones above
• Do you get sick of these questions? Never
• Are your kids ever with you on the screen? Yes
• Did you get a lot of press? Yes see here
• Do you use search engines as an aid? Of course, she loves them (had to ask)

In fact, she even convinced Yahoo Maps (I believe it was Yahoo) to make a change to how they handle an aspect of there mapping software. She was written up in the Guinness World Records for being the first to ever do this. She invented the idea and was the first.

She has a blog at Virtual Anna at WordPress and really enjoys technology. About 7 years ago she didn't even have a computer, and now she embraces it every day.

She printed out a sheet for me so I can contact her later but I suspect she might see this post at my personal blog. I probably will email her to ask her in detail, how she uses search engines for her job and what improvements she has seen and would like to see in the future.

Great meeting you Virtual Anna!

Posted at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (3) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

SMX Search Bowl was awesome. IM NY is holding a charity event. Minimum bids at Yahoo are a thing of the past. Google's stock tanks but rebounds a bit today. Bad links will keep kicking you when your down. EFF sues the DOJ over a Googler. SMX is nice, make sure to check out our coverage.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. SMX Search Bowl Pictures & Videos
2. IM-NY To Host Charity Event During SES New York
3. Minimum Bids at Yahoo Search Marketing Now a Thing of the Past
4. GOOG Stock Tanks on comScore Reports of Decline of Paid Search Clicks
5. Bad Links Can Kick You Once You Are Down

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. EFF Sues Googler For Correspondence With Horvath
2. Google Takes Top Prize At SMX Search Bowl
3. SMX West Day Two Coverage

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 27th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 27th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 26, 2008, Search Engine Land
• SMX West Day One Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Notes from the Blended Search Panel @ SMX, Raju Malhotra
• Blended Search - the next BIG thing in SEO - live blogging from SMX West, megabluewave.com
• Consumers not the cause of Google's slide, 16th letter
• Google Gadgets in Google Search Results, SEOish
• Google not just best at search, also best at quizzes, Bloggle
• Google Stock Down After comScore Click Report: A Roundup, Searchviews
• Google Takes Top Prize At SMX Search Bowl, Search Engine Land
• Is Blogging Recession Proof?, Business Blog Consulting
• Search Headlines & Links: February 26, 2008, Search Engine Watch Blog
• underungen bei den AdSense Policies, TaT
• Watch Out For Backlink Sabotage, WebProNews
• You can't escape from Google-Jail when, sebastians-pamphlets.com
• Zanox ist geil, seoFM

Posted at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

So Danny and I are both up at 4ish this morning, he twitters me at 5am asking if I would take a break with him to get a diet coke. I initially did not think it was wise but Danny convinced me otherwise.

So we meet in the lobby and buy two diet cokes. We walk towards the conference area and see another UKer (blanking on her name but she is a MySpace expert). We walk and drink and then Danny decides to do breakfast at the hotel and convinces me to sit with them. I say only if I can ignore you guys and blog my stories. They said okay.

So we all get our laptops and sit down for breakfast (I don't eat, not kosher). All I can say is I hope my stories make sense because it is not easy blogging and talking at the same time.

So the 15 minute diet coke break turned into almost three hours. But yes, I blogged stories at SER, SEL and even now over here.

The funny thing is the woman asked if I would blog this. I initially thought no, but then said "maybe," actually, "probably."

Posted at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Buddies | Comments (8) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Too tired... Anyway, all these posts plus live blog coverage...

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Talk / Gmail Adds Live Chat & Invisible Mode Features
2. Google Updates AdSense Terms & Conditions
3. Google AdWords Launches Limited Beta Test Named "Automatic Matching"
4. Minimum Bids In Yahoo About To Change
5. SMX West Day One Coverage

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google AdSense Updates Terms and Conditions For Gadget Ads & Privacy
2. Update To Google AdWords "Automatic Matching"
3. Possible Google PageRank Update?
4. Yahoo Opens Search With "Search Monkey," Kind Of Like Google's Coop

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 26th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 26th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 25, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Google AdWords Launches Limited Beta Test Named "Automatic Matching", Search Engine Land
• Google May Spend Extra Money In Your AdWords Account With Automatic Matching!, PageTraffic SEO Blog
• Google teste les liens sponsoris's video dans ses pages de resultats, Leblogueur.com
• Google Updates AdSense Terms , Search Engine Land
• HKU, City U Joins Google Online Marketing Challenge, SEO Hong Kong
• Is your Photography Site Built in Flash? Are You Losing Business Because of It?, John Dawson Photography
• Juicy Links: Feb. 18 - Feb. 22, Exclusive Concepts Blog
• Many See AdSense Income Dropping, Search Engine Watch Blog
• My SMX West Panel is Done!, Eric Lander
• Pay Per Click Advertising Roundup for Monday 2/25/08, semvironment
• Search Engine Commentary: SMX West: Dangerous Place for Rand Fishkin, Reality SEO
• Search Marketing Conferences... Stay Tuned!, SargeBig's Duty Blog
• Why Does Barry Schwartz Often Skip The Conference Parties?, Sphinn

Posted at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Got a several minutes before I need to go to the conference. Figured I take some pictures of the view I have from my room in the Santa Clara Hyatt. They gave me this corner room, all the way at the end of the hall. It has a balcony - I believe it was the first time I had one of these in a hotel room. Here are pictures:

To my left is Great America:

Panning right, the Hilton is across the street:

Citrix:

To the right of Citrix:

As I continue moving right, I believe this is Yahoo's offices (I may be wrong):

The convention center?

Below me:

Alright, I'll probably head down now...

Posted at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (2) (0)

It seems like whenever I fly to a search conference, the same people time and time again are on the same flight with me. Jonathan Mendez, Steve, Kevin Lee but he is missing on this flight.

Yes, Jon is sitting in first class - he flies a ton for his new job, so he deserves it. The others, well - they are sitting in rows 9 and 10, right next to me. Kevin, well - typically he is on the same flight with us but not this time. Maybe he isn't going to show for this conference or maybe he now has a private jet? :)

I find it funny how the same crew is always on the same flights from New York to the hot search conference. I guess it makes sense flying from New York to San Jose but there are plenty of other flights that go direct from here. In addition, we fly together to Chicago, Vegas, Seattle and the list goes on.

I guess the odds aren't that great but still funny - or maybe it is not funny and I am just incredibly bored and would write just about anything to keep me occupied?

Time to put down the pen...

Posted at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

It's me again, on the plane. I just finished my blog entry on how I ended up writing this stuff. In the seat in front of me, in the opposite row - there is this guy with a 17" MacBook. Yea, it is a bit tight for him to type and use his computer.

I can't help to notice but the fact that he has dozens and dozens of sticky notes covering his desktop. They are everywhere. Stickies, as my Mac calls them, are basically virtual sticky notes.

Now, explain to me how sticky notes keep people organized? Heck, if you ever look at sticky notes, they are the most messy and disorganized looking pieces of paper one can imagine. To have them stuck in random order throughout your home and on your laptop makes no sense to me.

Do you use sticky notes to organize your daily life? If so, how do you do it?

Posted at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Category: Computers | Comments (2) (0)

I am sitting on the plane, going through blogging withdrawal at the moment. So to satisfy my addiction, I decide to pull out my laptop and open TextEdit. While listening to "The Trail" I look up at the airplane TV screens and think, what should I write about.

I then think back to how funny it is that I am writing this and thousands may read it. I write, and people read what I write. I am not a professional writer - far from it (thank goodness for blogging, where it is okay to use poor grammar), but yet people read what I have to say on a daily basis. Not just my friends and family but professionals.

I then drift further back towards my Junior year in high school. Dr. Masters, a small lady who taught us drama. I enjoyed the class, but after taking it, I thought to myself, no way will I ever become a writer. I used to write, in fact, I expressed my thoughts much better on a laptop then I could using my mouth. But I was never an "English student," I always much preferred the business side of things.

As I look back, how did I get here? I blogger, sudo-writer, with a readership? Never in a million years would I have thought...

One day, I'll have to write how I actually started writing at SEW and now SEL. Maybe a history of the progression there.

Posted at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Category: Blogging | Comments (3) (0)

Tell me this, why is the Continental Presidents Club always incredibly packed? Specifically the club in Newark airport?

They have two here, in Newark airport.

Each one is maxed out...

So the same thing happens over and over again. You get in, you walk around the room in a circle for two or three cycles until you find a seat with a plug. When you sit down, you see the same people doing laps around the club, doing the same thing you did. It feels like looking for a parking spot in NYC.

Anyway. Flight is, of course, delayed. But I am in the lounge now, blogging away.

Posted at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (3) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google AdWords does automatic matching for some. MSN Bot may be a bit out of control. Google and Yahoo link tools are slow. Matt Cutts speaks in a Google Groups thread. Google changes reinclusion language. Google highlights top Group members. Google makes a print guide for AdWords. Goolag launches nice tool. Survey rates Google top brand. Pakistan takes down YouTube. Chinese dissidents sue Yahoo again. NOINDEX poll is up. Ask adds more ads. SEMPO announces board.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Have Extra Money in Your Google AdWords Account? Google May Spend it With "Automatic Matching"
2. MSRBot Bot, Microsoft Bot Causing Havoc on Some Servers?
3. Google Webmaster Tools Links Not Being Update & Yahoo Site Explorer Up and Down
4. Google's Matt Cutts Replies to -60 Penalty Thread at Google
5. Google Reconsideration Request Language Modified
6. Google Webmaster Help Group Highlights Contributing Members
7. Google Releases Online Marketing Guides for Google AdWords

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Hackers Launch Goolag: A Google Vulnerability Scanner
2. Survey Says: Google Top Brand In UK
3. Pakistan YouTube Ban Propagates Worldwide Causing Major YouTube Outage
4. Yahoo, You're Not Off The Hook Over The Chinese Dissidents Case Says New Lawsuit
5. SEOs Want The NOINDEX Tag To Not Show A Page In The Index
6. Ask.com Adds More Sponsored Ads, Pushing Organic Results Below Fold
7. SEMPO Announces New 2008 Board of Directors

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 25th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 25th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 22, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Friday Recap, BruceClay.com
• Uh-Oh: AdSense Earnings Down - Search Engine Ranking, Kingnomar
• esistono domini privilegiati da Google?, Trusted Domain
• Newbie Guide to SEO - Where Do I Start?, eVisibility.com
• Automatic Matching Feeds Google Your Budget, WebProNews
• Automatic Matching Feeds Google Your Budget (David A. Utter/WebProNews), Techmeme
• Flickr Loses Some Juice for Search Engines, flyte blog
• Google Sitelink, Nayak
• Google Sitelink love for 2 of my sites, Here.org.uk
• Google Sitelinks update , divblog
• Google Toolbar Page Rank Broken?, Kusangpalo.com
• Matt Cutts Addresses Bad Linking and Google Penalties, Search Engine Journal
• Revenus en baisse chez AdSense, Blog4Web
• Search Engine Strategies London - Day Two, Search Engine Watch Blog
• SEO e flickr, Gianlucatorrini.com
• Why I hate Affiliate Marketing (but don't love AdSense either), mediadonis

Posted at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

People ask me why I typically don't attend the after hours parties at conferences. There are a few reasons:

(1) I am a boring person. :)
(2) I'm fairly quiet and like places that aren't noisy.
(3) I am so tired at the end of the day.

Let's look at the upcoming SMX that I am leaving for tonight. I will be landing, with Tamar, at midnight EST time. By the time we get to our rooms, it will likely be well after midnight. I'll do work as soon as I get to the room and finally go to sleep maybe midnight PST time. I will then get up at 5am PST due to lag and cause I have to do work. What will I be doing? Everything I do every day, pretty much but with less help. Danny and Chris are running the conference. Tamar is exclusive to conference coverage only at conferences. But I like to do it all.

• I'll do emails when I get up
• I'll do forum research
• I'll blog forum topics at SER
• I'll do RSS and seo research
• I'll blog at SEL
• I'll probably then pray, shower, eat
• More of the above and deal with RB stuff
• With minutes to spare, Ill run down to the convention center and then do live blogging
• While live blogging, Ill do the above items throughout the day
• Meet with companies and friends in the industry
• Stop off in exhibit hall to say hi to friends
• Keep this up throughout the day
• Go back to room to do recaps of the day's news, coverage and stuff
• More RB work
• Eat frozen kosher dinner meal cold
• Quick run to a party and say hi and then leave soon after
• Head back to hotel room for more work
• Shower, rest and sleep
• Back up at 5am PST repeat from top

Most people are tired during conferences but I am often too tired for the parties. So I need to apologize in advance if I can't make a party or a dinner invitation.

One thing I am not looking forward to is doing all of this on Thursday and then taking a 10pm PST flight back to NY. Getting off the plane at 5am (EST) on Friday, driving my car back to the office, and working a full day.

At least I can sleep 12 hours Friday night to catch up.

I should add... I know a lot of other people continue their day jobs and other responsibilities while on conferences. I am not the only one and some of those people even manage to party all night.

Posted at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Late this afternoon I am off to SMX West. I go via Newark, Continental direct to San Jose Airport. It is about 10 minute ride from the airport to the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, aka the conference hotel. The hotel is right next to the Santa Clara Convention Center, where the conference will take place.

I am very excited for the event - it is the first big SMX ever. My team and volunteers will be covering the conference in great detail, see our SMX West coverage schedule and keep watching the SMX West 2008 archives for updates starting tomorrow. Keep in mind, we will be on PST time, so the updates will begin happening later in the day.

One thing I am not looking forward to is the flight back. I always say, I will never do the red eye again, but I always end up doing that. After the red eye, I go directly to work and work a full day. Maybe this time I will wise up and take some Tylenol PM.

Hope to see you all at SMX!

Posted at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Fake videos in Google search results were found. New Sitelinks update is underway. Flickr adds nofollows. We know the history of Text Link Ads. Ask adds statistics. Google does video ads. Google is doing health records. EU slaps down privacy rules on Google, Yahoo and Live. Microsoft does search and win contests again. Search in pictures is out.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Trick Google into Placing Video Icon Image Near Your Search Listings?
2. February '08 Google Sitelinks Update
3. Yahoo's Flickr Slaps on NoFollows on Photo Owner's Links
4. History of TLA is History of SEO Industry
5. Ask.com Provides Compete Statistical Traffic Estimates
6. Google Pushes AdSense for Video
7. Google Will Soon Be Storing Patients' Health Records

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft & Other Search Engines Must Comply With EU Privacy Rules
2. Microsoft Launches Search Prizes With Virgin In UK: Big Snap Search
3. Search In Pictures: Tennis at Google, The Mars Volta at Yahoo & Schwag

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 22nd issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 22nd, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 21, 2008, Search Engine Land
• First Reports of Google Reader Spam Injection, Digg
• programming: First Reports of Google Reader Spam Injection, reddit.com
• Search Marketing Hot lists, Top Sites and Daily Recaps, Web Analytics World

Posted at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Snowed bad enough that I worked from home. I never work from home. Anyway... I set my calls in my office to go to my cell. My clients really had no idea. In any event...

Here is a picture of the snow in my back yard:

Yea, that is my grill, wonder if I should bring it in during the winter. Anyway, let's zoom in so you can see the depth of the snow:

And it is still snowing and is suppose to continue for a while.

Posted at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Category: Weather | Comments (3) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google does webmaster survey. adCenter's dynamic keyword insertion feature is off. Google Reader suffering from spam? Hiding content here and there, may be okay. Are those reciprocal links going to hurt you? The pros and cons of getting a link from Google. Adam Lasnik on video. Is your website quality? adExcellence launches in the UK. Google might put mobile in balloons. ISP cache glitch called Gmail security issue. Google does video ads again. Ask adds stats to their binoculars.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Asks For Feedback With Webmaster Tools User Survey
2. Microsoft adCenter's Dynamic Keyword Feature Broken: Work Arounds?
3. First Reports of Google Reader Spam Injection?
4. Hiding Content Temporarily Is OKAY, Google Says
5. Is There Anything Wrong With Reciprocal Linking?
6. Is a Link From Google Worth the Exposure?
7. Video: Google's Adam Lasnik Interviewed
8. Is Your Website High Quality? Ask These Questions

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Microsoft Launches adExcellence Program For UK Advertisers
2. Google May Launch Balloons Across World To Provide Mobile Access
3. Gmail User Gains Access To 30 Other Gmail Accounts Due To ISP Caching Glitch
4. Google Pushes AdSense For Video Again
5. Ask.com Binoculars Adds Compete.com Stats

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 21st issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 21st, 2008:

• Instilling Fear In Site Owners, BruceClay.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 20, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Links harmed our ranking. Is it short term?, WebProWorld
• Mehr oder weniger Adsense Einnahmen?, ABAKUS SEO Forum
• Pay Per Click Advertising Roundup for Wednesday 2/20/2008, semvironment
• SEO Basics in 45 Minutes, SiteProNews
• The Secret to Becoming an SEO Celebrity, Gonzo SEO

Posted at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

There are some people who have a lot of history in the industry and there are some people who have made a huge impact on the industry. Patrick Gavin in one person who has both in the SEO industry.

Patrick Gavin the co-founder of Text Link Ads (TLA), arguably the most well known company in the SEO space, has written one of his first personal blog entries at PatrickGavin.com named History of TLA. Patrick has come a really long way, from working in his family's brick restoration company to now being the President of Display Advertising at MediaWhiz, who now owns TLA.

In Patrick's post, he takes us through how TLA got its start and where it is today. I am proud to say that RustyBrick, my company, has a part in it. I won't get into what we have done, Patrick explained that, but I would like to add some personal notes.

To see a man like Patrick and his business partner Bill Fish see so much success within a short period of time makes me so happy. I know Patrick and Bill for a long time. On both a personal and professional level, I can personally say, they are honest, respectful and most importantly caring people. They are both good old fashion people and to see that with two individuals who have seen such change in under five years, that is something to look up towards.

Let me tell you a little story. Back during SES NY 2005 I think, I forget now... I invited a bunch of people out for dinner. The list included, and I hope I don't leave anyone out, Patrick Gavin, Chris Boggs, Ben Pfeiffer, Gary Price, Jim Lanzone (old-CEO of Ask), and Matt Cutts of Google. Besides for having all these smart people in one room, eating a nice meal together - there was some tension.

Even back then, there was this tension between Google and Text Link Ads. The people behind those companies were Matt Cutts who represented Google and Patrick Gavin who represented Text Link Ads (so the tension might have been perceived as between those two individuals). I can tell you that I was a bit nervous about the two sitting at a table together, just because of all the history there. But the thing is, both Patrick and Matt are stand up guys who have hearts and care about people. Let me say this, there was zero tension once we all sat down and had dinner. The conversation was excellent, there was fun chat and exchanges of ideas. There was no fighting, arguing and so on.

I just wanted to add that tidbit to TLA's history post. Not that it made any difference in TLA's history, but it is a point in TLA's history that will always stand out to me.

It is great to see guys like Patrick, Bill and Matt (with Google's IPO) all see such great success in the ventures they set forth in. They are all such good people and deserve all the best.

Posted at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Category: Buddies | Comments (2) (0)

I have written about him time and time again in the family and RustyBrick categories, most recently the post named My Brother & Sister-in-Law Had a Baby Girl Last Night.

In any event, Taylor Pratt wrote about The Secret to Becoming an SEO Celebrity and mentioned something about me possibly having "an identical twin" or a "clone" of myself. Although I don't have an "identical" twin, I do have a twin brother. The guy in the picture in the post.

He and I own and run RustyBrick. He is basically the behind the scenes man at the company. He actually came up with the name RustyBrick in high school, based on his initials are RBS, so it was RustyBrickSoftware until we formed a real business and wanted to keep it short and made it RustyBrick. More on our old name and old web sites over here.

So, yes, I have a twin that helps me tremendously. He handles the day to day RustyBrick stuff. I get the client, get them going and then he is the one who gets his hands dirty with the day to day. I would not be able to do all the blogging I do without him.

I can talk a lot more about him but I'll spare you all. For those who did not know, now you do. I got a twin brother.

Posted at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Category: Family | Comments (3) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google still is using past searches to display ads. Google also hides ads based on past searches. Live Search also does site links. Can an ODP removal hurt you? AdSense earnings are down in 2008. Make sure your AdWords display URL matches your landing page. Microsoft says we can do it without you Yahoo. SEOing too much and too often? Microsoft and Google sued for paid search tools. Lee Odden rocks an interview with Google's Adam Lasnik.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google AdWords Still Using Past Searches To Display Target Ads
2. Microsoft Live Search Does Site Links Also
3. Can A ODP (dmoz.org) Removal Hurt Your Search Engine Rankings?
4. 63% of AdSense Publishers Say Earnings Down in 2008
5. Google AdWords Display URL Must Match Landing Page URL
6. Microsoft's Emphasis on Search Continues With (or Without) Yahoo
7. What is the SEO Impact of Changing a Site Often?
8. Google Will Hide Ads If You Don't Like Them, Well Kind Of

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Official: Google To Enforce AdWords URL Policy Starts April 1st
2. Microsoft & Google Sued Over Paid Search Patent Infringement
3. Lee Odden Interviews Google's Adam Lasnik

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 20th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 20th, 2008:

• Search Engine and Social Media Shenanigans: Yahoo! Blocks Other SEs From Spidering Del.icio.us?, Performancing.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 19, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Adsense Earning Down in '07, Website Magazine
• Adsense Publisher verdienen 2008 weniger, PIXELGANGSTER
• Google Continues Downgrading Paid Link Sites, WebProNews
• Google Maps Mapspam, GKarten
• Me, DaveN and Ralph Tegtmeier (Fantomaster) at SES London 2008, Search Engine War
• Search Engine and Social Media Strategies: Feedburner Burns Itself?, Performancing.com
• Search Engine Marketing Insight From Clay Fisher, Search Enginuity

Posted at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

I'll admit it. I have been receiving emails from some of my readers at both this site and the Search Engine Roundtable that their comments are not coming through.

In the past, I use to check the comment spam folder much more actively. But now I get about two hundred comments in an hour that makes it into the junk folder. It takes forever to scan through all of them. So I normally just delete them without looking. Honestly, I rather find new comment that sift through thousands of junk comments to find a handful of false positive (real comments).

So, if you ever see your comment not being approved automatically then you can be pretty sure that it will rarely make it to the blog. In that case, I would email me right away with the blog, your name, and the time you placed the comment - so I can approve it. My email? Well, just use this form to reach me...

Posted at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Category: Blogging | Comments (0) (0)

Apple's Mac OS X operating system is a flavor of Linux. So us Mac users have the privilege of rarely experiencing what are called "kernel panics." A kernel panic is as described by Apple "a type of error that occurs when the core (kernel) of an operating system receives an instruction in an unexpected format, or that it fails to handle properly."

Yesterday, I received my new external travel hard drive to solve my SuperDuper backup issue. I plugged it in and my screen was hit with this huge message:

Tip to Apple. First time I saw this, I almost fainted - well maybe not but... Imagine this message coming on your screen by the screen slowly being overwritten from top down with this message. At first, it looks like someone is hacking your computer. But this is the Apple kernel panic warning.

Apple users get this message in a couple situations:

1. The operating system receives an instruction in an unexpected format, or that it fails to handle properly.
2. The operating system is not able to recover from a different type of error.
3. Damaged or incompatible software or, more rarely, damaged or incompatible hardware was detected by the OS.

I guess the way the "Western Digital Passport 160GB USB 2.0 Portable 2.5" External Hard Drive - WDXMS1600TN" was formatted, when I plugged it in, I got this message. Thing is Western Digital says the hard drive is Mac OS X compatible. So I restarted with the hard drive plugged in and then used Disk Utility to reformat it to the Mac format. Everything was smooth sailing after that.

I ran the first back up last night on the drive. It took about 3 hours and 20 minutes to make the bootable copy. From now on, I suspect it will only take 30 minutes or so to do copies. SuperDuper has this "SmartUpdate" feature that makes complete bootable copies by just updating the changes. Saves me about 3 hours.

I will give the SmartUpdate a try tonight.

I am so glad to have two backup solutions, in two different locations, doing two different solutions. Time Machine does incremental backups and SuperDuper does mirrored bootable copies.

Posted at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (2) (0)

To continue my story and probably end the blog posts on my Israel Trip, I thought I end with the story of the missing bag.

As I finish unloading my parents stuff into their house and begin loading my bags into my car to drive back home, I notice a big purple suitcase is missing. I ask my father if he took it inside. Nope, not at his house. I frantically look through the cars to make sure its not there and it is gone.

I then relax myself and think. I remember now. I carefully took the bag off the cart to first load the larger bags into the car. As I began loading the larger bags, a car pulled up and blocked my view of the big purple bag. I thought I loaded everything, but I forgot the big purple bag at the curb.

I then pull out my baggage claim tickets, isolate the bag claim number for the missing bag and call a couple numbers. No one is helpful. One person said, we don't check the curb. You have to go back and see if it is there - note, I am about one hour from the airport now and I have been traveling for like 20 hours at this point. I asked, can you patch me into the baggage claim desk at Newark Airport Terminal C. They said no. So I call the Newark Airport Police who give me the number for that area. I call but no answer, it says on the machine - Leave a message with the details and we may get back to you, we are very very busy - good luck (or something like that).

At that point, I figure my only choice is to drive back to the terminal and check if I can find the bag. My wife is sick, so I can't have her come back with me. Yes, I wanted a second person to wait by the car just in case I have to go into the terminal. Time was of the essence here, anyone could have picked it up and taken it home with them. So I drop off my bags at home and then pick up my mother - who was also 20 hours traveling but offered to come with (mothers are the best).

We jet to Newark, as we get closer I get more antsy... We finally pull up and I look at the location of where I placed the bag. It is NOT there!!!!

I then tell my mom to wait by the car and I run into the terminal and head towards the baggage claim. There is one attendant there. She is helping another customer and one more is in front of me. She sees by my eyes that I am a bit nervous and asks if she can help me. I said, I left a big purple bag here, did you see it?

Guess what she says???

Why would you leave your bag here?

I was thinking to myself... Are you crazy, I left it for fun, to make your job harder. But I responded, it was an accident, I did not mean to and I am sorry.

She said, yes we have it. A cop brought it in earlier. I big sigh of relief come across me.

She brings out the bag and I bring it back to the car and call the wife.

Finally, we head back home.

Thank you mom.

Note: that was the first time I ever left a bag anywhere, let alone the airport curb. Lessons learned...

Posted at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google AdSense puts the Google logo in the middle. Google dishes out more PageRank penalties. I posted times it should take to see your SEO changes. Google is indexing unlinked pages. Does Google read your boilerplate content? Hitwise posts some stats on search users. Do reciprocal links still work? SMX & SES party schedules are live. Google Earth posts new images. China slaps Baidu for sex images. The first day of SES London is over.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google AdSense Tests Google Logo Placement Again
2. New Round of Google PageRank Penalties on February 15th
3. How Long Should Your Google SEO Changes Take?
4. How Google May Treat Boilerplate Content
5. Google Indexing Unlinked Pages?
6. Is Google Search More Profitable for Google AdSense?
7. Survival of the Small Webmaster in a World of Link Building
8. SMX West and SES New York City 2008 Party Schedule

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Earth Image Update: Spain Images
2. China Government Censured Baidu For Spreading "Filthy Pictures"
3. SES London Day One Recap

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 19th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 19th, 2008:

• Linky Goodness, February 18, Marketing Pilgrim
• Microsoft keeps the Live fires burning, ZDNet
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 18, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Always crashing in the same car: recurring misuses of higher education web sites - replicate, replicate, replicate, rose pruyne
• Ask.com & Dogpile Suit Up for Presidents Day: Google, Yahoo Don't (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Roundtable), Techmeme
• Delicious закрыт для поисковиков, Searchengines.ru
• Live Search восстанавливает базу сайтов, Searchengines.ru
• MSN Search is Stinktastic .:. Live Search is Neither Live or Searchable, Broken Record

Posted at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Catch me at 11am (EST) today for the Barry Cast. I will be live via audio and video feed at http://live.yahoo.com/rustybrick.

Tomorrow, I'll probably do it at 11:30am (EST). But the rest of the week, Ill do it at 11am (EST). I am doing it this week as an experiment and since Danny is off on vacation and won't be doing the Daily Search Cast. Next week, we are at SMX, so I doubt I will do this on schedule. But stay tuned.

Here is an embedded version, I am not sure if you can hear audio with this version:

I know it doesn't work in Safari, so try Firefox or IE.

Starting in 10 minutes at http://live.yahoo.com/rustybrick.

Update: Yahoo Live went down a few minutes into the show. Hoping it comes back soon. I am sorry.

It worked finally, sorry about Yahoo's tech issues.

Posted at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (0) (0)

When I was driving to work this morning, the whole 7 minutes, I was thinking about my old cell phones. It is a shame, I think I forgot about some of the phones I had in the past. So I thought I document what I remember now, before I forget it all. Hopefully, I will remember to update this blog post as I upgrade.

My first cell phone was when I spent a school year in Israel when I was 17 or so. It was the best mode of communication. I don't have a picture of the cell phone, but let me describe it. It was almost like a brick. I used to pretend it was a back pack. Why? Because my friends had these small cool phones, I had this huge phone that looked like it came from Zack Morris on Saved by the Bell (I am impressed I remember that show). In any event, it worked semi-well. I remember when I was in the old city, with a ton of brick all over the place, I had to walk to certain areas to get reception. In any event, it lasted me the year in Israel. How I wish I had a picture of that phone.

When I came back from Israel, I attended Baruch College, and needed a cell phone to communicate while I was in NYC. I also ran the early stages of RustyBrick while in college. So a cell phone was necessary. In any event, I remember having a Motorola flip phone. It worked well, no real complaints that I can remember. Again, I wish I had a picture of it or remember the name of it.

After that phone, I got myself a StarTAC phone. Those phones were the coolest phones back then, I was a little late to get one but I got it eventually. It worked well and I liked having it. I had a gray cover on mine but here is a picture of one.

After that, I think I had one or two, maybe three, phones - but I can't remember what they were. During this time, I also had palm pilots, I had many different ones - so I was addicted to mobile pant to hold all my gadgets comfortably.

Eventually, I upgraded to a the Palm Treo 650 and I was part of the smart phone group. After about a year or so, they came out with the Treo 700p and I got it on August 17, 2006. I really loved that phone - well, not the phone part but the mobile email stuff. I did a ton with it, including tethering the phone to my MacBook so I can use the Internet connection when traveling and it worked.

Then, in July, I broke down and got the Apple iPhone.

By far, this is my favorite phone. The web browsing is really web browsing, not fake web browsing. The email is awesome, there are some things I miss from the Treo - but its worth it. The phone is a 100X better than the Treo. The iPod rocks to have in one device. I live on this phone. Google Reader, Email, RustyBudget, text messaging, stocks, weather, photos, calendar, etc - it all syncs with my Mac perfectly.

What is next? I suppose a new iPhone when the 3G model comes out. But time will tell.

Posted at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Category: Computers , iPhone | Comments (1) (0)

I wrote about the Flight to Israel on Continental, so I figured I write about the flight back.

We leave about an hour or so after shabbos is over. We get to the airport on time. The security in Ben Gurion Airport is incredible. About 5 different people ask you a bunch of questions along the way. The check your bags a few times with you and then ask you more questions. They are constantly checking you to make sure things are safe. Guess what, it is all done incredibly quickly and it felt much quicker than being at a New York airport's security line.

After getting through security, we set up shop temporarily in the center circle. My wife and mother go shopping, duty free, while my dad and I go on the free and fast wifi. A guy behind me asks how I connected. He had a Mac and was unable to connect. I explained that you need to agree to the terms of service but the agreement page does not work in Apple Safari, so you need to use Firefox. Once you agree in Firefox, you can use Safari again. He sadly only had Safari on his Mac.

At that time, I look around me to see if we have any people who look like they might be sniffing my Internet traffic. Like I would really know anyway. I then finish up my emails and RSS feeds and close my laptop. The 'girls' come back and we are greeted by friends who are flying back on El Al. They said they have access to the King David Lounge and asked us if we want to go. I said sure, but we also had access to the Dan Lounge, because I flew Continental and had an AMEX card. But we decided to go with them to the King David Lounge. Let me tell you, it blew me away. It was incredibly clean but the best part was the food was kosher. I grabbed some tuna, bread, cookies, drinks and had a meal. It rocked! I wonder if the Dan was that nice, maybe next time I'll check that out.

Note, Ben Gurion Airport is pretty new. I was actually in the airport the last night before they switched over to the new airport. It was November 1, 2004, almost November 2, 2004, when I had my flight back to New York after SES Sweden 2004, where I decided to go to Sweden via Denmark, then back to Denmark to London to Israel. Then on the way home (a few days later), I was the last flight out of the old terminal in Ben Gurion Airport. So the lounges are all pretty new and awesome, so is the airport. So it is hard to compare the Continental lounges to brand new lounges anyway. Learn more about the airport at Wikipedia.

We boarded our continental flight and I noticed we were on a really new plane. The TVs and seats and everything looked shiny - looked pretty new. Unfortunately, the air conditioning did not work until we took off and there was a slight delay on take off. So it was very hot and uncomfortable until we took off. But once in the air, it was smooth sailing. The TVs had on demand shows, so you can start a TV show, movie or whatever when you want, and even pause it if you need some shut eye. That is how airplane TVs should work.

We landed and my brother Ronnie picked us up. He drove us home at about 5 or 6am in the morning. Nice brother. It was Sunday morning.

When he dropped off my parents, it was there I noticed we were missing a bag. Missing a bag!!! To be continued....

Posted at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Ever wonder what a real blackhat SEO looks like? We hear about them. Some call themselves blackhat SEOs. But we rarely see true ones. ;-)

See the guy on the right with the beard? That is Ralph Tegtmeier, aka Fantomaster.

Lee Odden posted pictures of SES London, where Mike Grehan convinced Ralph Tegtmeier, aka Fantomaster to sit on a panel. Fantomaster is an historic icon in the SEO industry. More about him at this page.

Posted at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (1) (1)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google updates positions two through five. Google adds AdWords Api Gurus. Gmail spits out 502 errors. Live Search to become less strict. Andy Beard and Delicious blocks spiders. Why doesn't everyone love social media? Google gets sued by old contractor. Google files 10-K with SEC. Google's Hello aids child pornography. We have blueprints of a Google data center. Yahoo Buzz to go Digg like. Happy President's Day!

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Position Two - Five Google Search Update?
2. Google Introduces Non Googler's As "AdWords API Gurus"
3. Many Gmail Users Can't Login to Check Email: 502 Errors
4. Microsoft Live Search Says Admits They Were Too Tough on Sites: Making Algorithm Less "Strict"
5. Ask.com & Dogpile Suit Up for Presidents Day: Google, Yahoo Don't
6. Andy Beard Blocks Googlebot with Robots.txt
7. Google Establishes Hydro-Power Data Center
8. del.icio.us Blocks Search Engine Spiders
9. Why Don't Some People Join Social Media Sites?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Contractor Sues Google Over Google Sky Layer
2. Google 10K: 55% More Employees, 99% Of Income Via Ads & More
3. Google Helps In Child Porn Bust In United States
4. Blueprints Of Google's Oregon Data Center
5. Yahoo Buzz: Next Digg Competitor

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 18th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 18th, 2008:

• Google Search API Questioned Again, WebProNews
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 14, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Google Video Ads Are Up!, SEO Docs
• People Are Finding More Words To Search With, WebProNews
• Who's Tedster? If You're an SEO, You Should Know, SEOmoz
• Ask.com & Dogpile Suit Up for Presidents Day: Google, Yahoo Don't (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Roundtable), Techmeme
• Briefs: Ask.com & Dogpile Suit Up for Presidents Day: Google, Yahoo Don't, ResourceShelf
• How Much Do You Make From AdSense?, Michelle Clarke
• Presidents Day Search Decorations, InsideGoogle

Posted at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Now, this is one of the most interesting online product catalog choices I have ever seen. Sent to me by an RBer... It is visible at http://producten.hema.nl/ but I made a quick YouTube video out of it.

Neat!

Posted at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Category: | Comments (0) (0)

I skipped Friday from Thursday, because nothing really significant happened Friday day. Now, although Avi was officially Bar Mitzvah'ed on Thursday, Shabbos (Friday night and Saturday) was a continuation of that celebration.

The plan was for many of us to meet at the kotel and pray Shabbos night services there. Many of us took taxi's prior to Shabbos beginning and got there early to prepare for services. When we arrived, we secured a place to pray in about the same location as on Thursday. As more people came, we decided to start. If I remember correctly, Avi lead services for both afternoon and evening services.

The thing is, soon after we started two new groups formed in front and behind us. The ones behind us were a Carlebach group, extremely loud. Then in front of us was a "mission" from the US. Great cause, they basically take a group of children who are ill, to Israel for a week or so, to experience it. So that group, although very nice, was a bit loud, as you can imagine. It was almost impossible to hear Avi lead us, but we managed.

After services, we walked back to the area of our hotels. It was about 20 - 30 minutes to walk, but it was a bit hilly. My sister and brother-in-law reserved the OU Center in Jerusalem for the shabbos meals. They had a caterer and more at this place, and it turned out very nice. They hosted meals for Friday night, Saturday day and Saturday night. Shabbos morning, we held services at the OU Center, where Avi read the whole Parsha Trumah, as opposed to just the first Aliyah, which is done during the weekday. He read perfectly and he wasn't nervous. When I did that, I was extremely nervous. Yes, he was only in front of 30 or so close friends and family, while I was in front of hundreds who were looking for me to make mistakes - but still, impressive for a 13 year-old.

My wife wasn't feeling well, so after the meal, we went back to our hotel and tried to sleep a bit. Then came back to the OU center for the third-meal. After that, we were pretty much done with Israel. It was time to go back to the airport to catch our flight to Newark. More on that later...

Posted at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Religion , Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

SMX West conference schedule is now live. SEO success comes with silence. Google tests video ads in search results. Get in Google definitions. Google Search API is unreliable? Gmail gets more helping hands. Google Analytics wants you to link to AdWords. Change your AdSense payee name. Porn company wants to protect kids from porn on Google. Yahoo Video gets upgraded. Search in Pictures is out.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. SMX West 2008 Conference Coverage Schedule
2. Search Engine Optimization Success Comes with Silence
3. Google Begins Testing Video Ads in Search Results
4. How to Get Your Content in Google Definitions in 2008
5. Is The Google Search API Reliable Anymore?
6. Gmail Help Discussion Adds Four New Colorful Gmail Guides
7. Google Analytics Emails AdWords Customers To Reestablish Link to AdWords
8. How To Changing Your Payee Name In Google AdSense

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Porn Company Wants Google & Yahoo To Protect Kids From Pornography
2. Yahoo Video Gets An Upgrade
3. Search in Pictures: Yahoo Hippies, Protesting Via Google, Vint Cerf With Ask

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 15th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 15th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 14, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Beware Smaller Businesses: Do Not Anger the Google Gods, bMighty.com
• Fool's Gold Link Exchange for Local Search Domination, AIM Clear Blog
• Search Headlines & Links: February 14, 2008, Search Engine Watch Blog
• Новости поисковых систем от Searchengines.ru, SEO Master Alex
• Sphinn - Happy Valentines Day Search Industry, Sphinn
• Thursday Roundup 2/14/2008, semvironment
• Weekly Round Up - Stories You Might Have Missed, Hybrid Search Engine Marketing
• Will Using A NoFollow Attribute Raise Google's Eyebrows?, PageTraffic Blog

Posted at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Neil Peart, Rush's drummer, arguably the most talented drummer to live, owns this song. But this 9 year-old shows he can seriously do some damage. Check out this video:

Amazing!

Posted at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Category: Music | Comments (2) (0)

So after the kotel tours we prayed afternoon services at the kotel and then headed back to our respective lodges. The picture at the top right is of me and the Bar Mitzvah boy before leaving the kotel to head back and then go to Yad Vashem. As soon as we get back, we quickly change and I meet family and friends to bus over to Yad Vashem.

Yad Vashem is a holocaust museum. You can learn all about it at their web site or at Wikipedia. I'll tell you about our tour.

My sister scheduled a private tour when the museum was basically empty at night. It was a special tour for bar mitzvah kids. In short, they pair up a bar mitzvah kid with a kid who perished in the holocaust. The tour guide, who was excellent, tries to take us through the museum through the events of that child. It was a really educational and special tour and I am very glad I went.

Here is a picture of me facing the back door of the museum and looking in. Notice, it is like a triangle.

It was a long day that day, but a great way to end off. We started with Avi's Bar Mitzvah, then did the Kotel Tours and finished the day with this important tour.

Posted at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Category: Religion , Travels | Comments (2) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Long tail searches are where they are. Hitwise shows the true finances behind a Google penalty. Google wants you to link your Analytics account to AdWords. Is Google to strict on the geo-targeting? Yahoo lays off our friends. Yahoo is the most improved PPC program.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Search For Your Valentines - Happy Valentines Day '08
2. Long Tail Searches Are Becoming More Mainstream
3. Hitwise Shows Consequences of Being Banned by Google
4. Google Wants to Link Google Analytics Account with Google AdWords
5. Is Google's Recent Geo Targeting Changes a Bug?
6. Yahoo Begins to Lay Off Employees
7. Yahoo Search Marketing Votes Most Improved PPC Program of 2007

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Logo & Others Say Happy Valentine's Day
2. Hitwise Illustrates How A Google Slap Can Hurt Hard

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 14th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 14th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 13, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Are the public becoming more Internet Savvy, Creativesuit blog
• Briefs: Special Logos for Valentine's Day!, ResourceShelf
• Bruceclay.com - SEO Headlines, BruceClay.com
• Google Logo & Others Say Happy Valentine's Day, Search Engine Land
• Google's Many Valentine's Day Specials (Philipp Lenssen/Google Blogoscoped), Techmeme
• Link Love, Esteban Panzera
• Live Search : dpart dun des responsables du moteur de recherche, Le Blogueur
• Search Engine Land: News About Search Engines , Search Engine Land
• What happens if your site gets 'blacklisted' by Google? (Robin Goad/Hitwise Intelligence), Techmeme

Posted at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Listening to Danny on WebmasterRadio and they are experimenting with Live Yahoo.

I should be visible in real time when I am at my desk here:

I'll start this channel soon at http://live.yahoo.com/rustybrick.

Posted at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Category: Blogging | Comments (7) (0)

In the afternoon of Avi's Bar Mitzvah, many of us went on the Western Wall Tunnel Tours. Our tour guide was really great - he really got the children involved and also educated us all, big time.

Basically, this is a tour of the western wall of the outside of the Jewish Temple or בית המקדש. Much of the protecting walls were covered up by thousands of years of dirt and building homes and stuff on top of them. When Israel became a state, Israel began to dig up part of the western wall, which is what we call the Kotel. The Kotel is just a small piece of the whole Western Wall - but much of it is covered up by homes. So they made these tunnels to let us walk, safely, along the wall, under the streets and homes that are above it.

What is so important about this wall? Well, it is the closest point to where we can go, to the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit). In fact, when we walked through the tunnel, there was one point where you can stand directly in front (picture) - a few hundred feet (maybe less, not sure) from the center of that point. We saw a Chosen (about to be married man) come to say a prayer there before his big day. It is the closest point, by most authorities, a religious Jew can get to the point of the Kadosh Hakadashim (Holy of Holies) - so it is spiritually important and significant.

Also, one of the largest stones in the world is part of that wall. It is a length of 13.6 meters and an estimated width of between 3.5 and 4.5 meters; estimates place its weight at 570 tons.

The thousands and thousands of history in those walls and tunnels is just amazing. I am glad I went on this tour - I learned a lot. If you ever do go to Israel, I highly recommend it - amazing amount of history there. You can also learn a lot about it at Wikipedia...

The cool and action packed part was when we left the tunnel. We leave through the Muslim Quarter and we are escorted by two Israeli soldiers that are armed with automatic rifles. The tour guide told us it is just for show, but seriously, why would you do that for show. :) Anyway, it was exciting to say the least.

Next comes Yad Vashem...

Posted at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Category: Religion , Travels | Comments (2) (0)

Last night was an exciting night for me and my family. My twin-brother, who is the co-owner and founder of RustyBrick (which some of you may or may not know, he is the behind the scenes guy) and his wife had a little baby girl last night.

My brother left work a bit early in anticipation of the delivery. I get a call that it is likely going to happen. That night, my sister-in-law's mother and aunt were coming in from Texas. My brother was the one who was going to pick them up, but obviously he could not. So I offered and drove to pick them up at Newark (yea, I have been to Newark Airport a lot this week). About 10 minutes from driving back home, we find out they had a baby girl.

So instead of taking them to Ronnie's home, I take them directly to the hospital. I drop them off in front and then park the car. I then go up to the room to check out my new niece. Of course, I snap a picture on my iPhone - the one you see above. The mother, father and baby are all doing well.

I then snapped a picture of the fresh foot prints. We literally got there within 30 minutes of the baby being born, so the ink on that paper is still wet.

Cute kid, no? That makes for a second girl!

Posted at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Category: Family | Comments (5) (0)

The other day I posted pictures of SphinnCon Israel. I finally had time to upload a two part video of my introduction to the first ever SphinnCon. I had to break up the 17 minute video into two parts, so YouTube would accept it. My Dad took the video, he was in the front row.

As you can see, in the beginning, I was a bit choppy but things went smoothly afterwards. I personally had a great time with it:

Part One: 8 minutes and 51 seconds

Part Two: 8 minutes and 10 seconds

Posted at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips , Travels | Comments (0) (0)

While I was in Israel, SuperDuper announced the release of their Leopard compatible backup solution.

I have been obsessively awaiting the release of this backup solution for a long long time. Yes, I do have use Time Machine to backup but Time Machine is not a bootable copy (or exact clone), it is great for restoring files but not for when a hard drive crashes and you need to get going on a new bootable version.

I have been using SuperDuper as a backup program since August 2006. I am so glad it is back.

I ran my first update Sunday, a full backup. It worked well. But now when I try running the "Smart Update" feature that only copies changes, it tells me that I have run out of space. My Super Duper hard drive is the same exact size as my Mac hard drive. If it is a clone, it should not run out of space. I am not sure what is up with that, especially since I have about 15GB of space on my Mac hard drive.

I may just have to buy a larger hard drive, something I am not looking forward to doing. But I will do it, if that is the only solution.

Posted at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Microsoft upgrades MSNBot. Yahoo Search Marketing has lagged reports. Google will begin enforcing the display URL policy. AdSense earnings poll is in. Google shows you when you were first indexed. Google Analytics Advisor starts up. What is your consulting rate? Google Maps adds street views. Over one percent of Google searches contain one malicious result. Google makes centerfold. Microsoft doesn't want to market to Latinos in the US. Google does the Doodle 4 event.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Microsoft Live Search Adds HTTP Compression & Conditional Gets Support to Crawler
2. Yahoo Search Marketing Reporting Lagged
3. Google to Lay Down the Law on AdWords Display URL Policy
4. 37% of Google AdSense Publishers Earned Over a $1,000 in 2007
5. Find Out The Date Google First Found Your Page
6. Google Analytics Advisor (Really) Starts Posting on WebmasterWorld
7. What's the Typical Search Engine Optimization Industry Consulting Rate?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Maps Adds Street View Photography For Several New Cities
2. Google AdWords To "Strictly Enforce" Display URL Policy
3. Google Study: 1.3% Google Searches Return At Least One Malicious Result
4. Google On Centerfold Of Marie Claire
5. Microsoft adCenter Says No To Spanish Landing Pages For US Traffic
6. Google Opens "Doodle 4 Google" Competition For School Kids

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 13th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 13th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 12, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Tamar Weinberg Joins Mashable, mashable.com
• Yahoo Search Marketing защитит счета пользователей, Search Engines.ru
• 2007 AdSense Earnings Poll Results Are In, Sphinn
• Adsense Publisher Earnings: Alternatives, Website Magazine
• Announcing Crawler Improvements for Live Search (Nathan Buggia/Live Search Webmaster), Techmeme
• Blogs Take Center Stage For Marketers And For Google, Shaun Low
• Google AdWords To "Strictly Enforce" Display URL Policy, Search Engine Land
• Google Updates AdWords Display URL Policy (John/The Adventures of PPC Hero), Techmeme
• Nchtern, aber im SEO Tools Rausch, seoFM
• Search Headlines & Links: February 12, 2008, Search Engine Watch Blog

Posted at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Thursday was Avi, my oldest nephew, Bar Mitzvah - the day he became of age to be counted as a man in the Jewish world.

We all met at the Kotel, Western Wall, in the morning. I had to hunt down a representative that would secure a table for us to use during morning services. I finally found the guy, he brought me a table amongst the masses of people (keep in mind it was a new month and a Thursday, so lot's going on at the Kotel that day). He told me to stand and guard the table until more people came. But then they needed me for pictures, so we got someone to take my place while I did some pictures. Then we all went to the Kotel, by the table, for morning services. We got a position near the men and women dividing wall (mechitza (spelling)), so the women can see what was going on.

Avi's brother, second oldest son, Jeremy lead the introductory part of the morning services. Then two of my brother-in-law's friends did the rest of the services. The picture above is of Avi reading the Torah. I was honored with one of the alyiahs. He did a great job!

During all of this, we had a very loud group behind us. It was this Carlebach group behind us, and as some of you know, they can get loud. But we survived and finished up services. After services we all either walked or took a taxi to the event hall for the party.

When I got to the event hall, I helped my sister set up her computer to the projector. The first problem we had was that there was only one outlet and we had two things to plug in. So they got us a plug that expanded into two. Then when I tried out the outlet, I noticed the power wasn't working. So I asked them for an extension cord so we can try an outlet that was further away. They didn't have an extension cord, so they built one on the spot for me. When that was built, I was a bit afraid to plug the devices into it, cause it can fry the computer and projector. I took my chances and it worked out perfectly.

The party was very nice, the food was good, the music was good, the speeches were nice as well. The dessert was also very good. And yes, there was dancing and more pictures. I was very impressed on how well everything went.

That was the Bar Mitzvah, after the Bar Mitzvah - we did a few other things to extend the event. More to come on that in later posts.

Posted at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Travels | Comments (0) (0)

After a long day of standing at SphinnCon Israel on Tuesday, I was fairly tired that night. In any event, I knew I wanted to document the day and upload pictures on my extremely slow Internet connection in Israel. So when I woke up, I began my morning stuff, email, RSS, forum research. Then when I was done, I began blogging the conference at both the Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land (Danny then told me, he would have blogged it at Search Engine Land).

I told my wife to go shopping while I blogged away the AM. She found a Michal Negrin store nearby and bought some jewelry. She then met me back at the hotel and I finished up my blog stories for the morning. A little after 1PM, we left to do more shopping in Geula. Yes, I am a great husband for going shopping even though it makes me ill to shop. I don't think we bought anything that day, I may be wrong - it is all turning into a fog right now for me. But we did stop at a tile place. My wife has been really wanting us to get a backsplash for ournew house but I have been trying to push off that decision.

In any event, she found two styles she liked here in Israel. Note, she hasn't been able to find anything in America yet - but she found two styles she liked in Israel. The one above, is one that I think we both like and will work well in our kitchen. Thing is, I guess it would have to be shipped from Israel and we would have to convert the measurements somehow - all doable. Not that we are going to do this anytime soon. The above backsplash looks a lot like Israeli stone, which is why we like it.

After the backsplash bit, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. Skipping some parts....

We go together to some restaurant that tells us they have no room for the four of us. My sister-in-law does her smooth talking and gets us in. We eat well. It turns out the waiter was a taxi driver that took my brother somewhere, so they chatted a bit about that. In any event, the food was good and the convo was good. Although, I prefer not to talk and be distracted when I have food in front of me ;-).

After that, I think the day was over - we had to rest up for the big day tomorrow. My nephew's bar mitzvah.

Posted at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Category: Blogging , Food , Shopping , Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Is Google being evil or helpful? Google Reader's Graham leaves the forums. WebmasterWorld is adding features. Will you continue to use Google Checkout? Sphinn adds a bury feature. Try managing a group of link builders. Finding new SEO clients. Are NoFollows red flags? Using data for link building campaigns. Tech companies are going after Yahoo employees. Internet ads have grown again.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google's Toolbar Reportedly Overwriting 404 Pages Across The Web
2. Graham From Google Reader Help Leaves
3. WebmasterWorld Version 5: Software Updates & Features
4. Will You Continue to Use Google Checkout After Trial Period?
5. Does Using a NoFollow Attribute Raise a Red Flag at Google?
6. Sphinn's "Bury" Button Goes Live
7. What Do You Do to Manage a Group of Link Builders?
8. How Does One Find New Clients for Search Engine Optimization?
9. How to Look at Nearby Data to Optimize Your Link Building Campaign

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Tech Companies Go After Yahoo Employees In Wake Of Microsoft & Layoff News
2. Internet Ads Grow; Google Sees Slight Decline

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 12th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 12th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 11, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Стратегии и кампании по увеличению ссылочного веса, blog.dimok.ru
• "SEO Building Permits" - An SEO's Presence Throughout A Design Project can Prevent Expensive Tear-Outs, Scott Clark
• Google and Fresh Content, SEO Revolution
• Google hijacking 404 error pages (Seoker.com), Techmeme
• Het beste halen uit je content: officiale webmaster boek door Google, Schrijven van een SEO
• Pilgrim's Picks for February 12, Marketing Pilgrim

Posted at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

This hits real close to home. The elementary school I went to named ASHAR, which has been educating the community since 1954, was partially destroyed this morning.

Fire guts auditorium at Schreiber Hebrew Academy in Monsey; Torahs saved from The Journal News has pictures and details. The fire destroyed the huge auditorium and lunchroom. It appears that part of the synagogue was destroyed but they were able to save the Torahs. I also hear from friends that the gym is okay but slightly damaged. Looking at the pictures, it seems the fire started behind the stage area, and then grew.

I play basketball at the school about twice a week I have four nephews who go there. In addition, my brother is probably sending his daughter there next year. All my sibling went to ASHAR, most my friends, and even some of my parents friends went there. There is a lot of history.

The classrooms were not touched by the fire, which is a huge relief. But the school was closed today because of the situation.

Reportedly, a car passing by reported the fire to the police at 3:11 a.m. There is no word yet if it was an arson or just an accidental fire. I know ASHAR has plans to move the school to a new location in the next five years.

The good news - no one was hurt, the torahs were saved and the class rooms were not damaged.

Update: The Journal News now has a video that shows more of the damage. It seems like a lot of the synagogue was also damaged. Notice the interview with the current school principle. I should drive by and see it for myself.

Update 2: It has now been confirmed that it was not arson, as I thought above.

Posted at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (1) (0)

To continue the tale... Tuesday was all about work. My wife went to Haifa to see her friend for the day, while I did SphinnCon Israel. See SphinnCon Israel 2008 Recap for a long overview of what happened. Below are my pictures from the event:

Posted at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) (0)

To continue my documentation of my Israel trip... Monday morning, my wife visited her friends in Bet Shemesh, a city in Israel's Jerusalem District, home, as of 2006 to 68,400 people. While she visited her friend, I was allowed to do some work that morning.

Then after work, I met my nephews, brother, brother-in-law and father in Mesharim where they did a tour of places like the Mir Yeshiva and other historic places in Mesharim. From there, we took one taxi and my brother's car back to his home in Beitar Illit, where my wife met me. All the kids got together and my nephews saw their cousins home for the first time. It was cool.

My wife and I left around dinner time to meet friends. We ate at a place not far from our hotel, while the rest of the family ate in Beitar.

The picture above is of the Rosh (head) Yeshiva of Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel.

Posted at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

I'm back with the roundups and here are today's items. I made some posts last week, but they are not documented here. YSM makes logging in more secure. Yahoo says no to Microsoft. Does Google have a fresh penalty? Google's web guide is up. How to ask for a link? Australian realtors sue Google. Lower my rankings. Google Reader bug found. Googlers go to Disneyland. Rand goes on Oprah. Google wins social security suit.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Yahoo Search Marketing Adds "Sign in Seal" Option To Login Page
2. Is Yahoo Now Merging with AOL After Rejecting Microsoft's Offer?
3. Does Google Prevent Some Sites from Displaying Fresh Content?
4. Google's "Making the Most of Your Content: A Publisher's Guide to the Web"
5. How You Shouldn't Ask for a Link
6. Australian Company Sues Google for Defamation
7. How Can I Lower My Google Rankings? Keyword Stuff, Link Spam & Hide Content
8. Google Reader Bug Doesn't Let You See All Friends' Shared Items

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. The Googliest Place On Earth: Google Takes Over Disneyland
2. SEO Makes Oprah In Roundabout Way
3. Google Wins Upside Down Social Security Number Privacy Lawsuit

Daily Link Finds:

This is the February 11th issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for February 11th, 2008:

• Blog News Roundup - 1/30/2008, PPC Hero
• Googles 404-Seite: Redesign ntig?, GoogleWatchBlog
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 30, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day Search Logos, InsideGoogle
• My Google Earnings Prediction, Miss on InvestorGeeks
• Search Headlines & Links: January 29, 2008, Search Engine Watch Blog
• Shalom SphinnCon Israel, Promediacorp
• AdSense Earnings Down? , WebProNews
• SphinnCon Israel coming up and not a woman to be seen (on a panel), illuminea
• Duplicate content question, Matt Cutts
• World Reacts To Microsoft-Yahoo Surprise, WebProNews
• Google Releases New Urchin Beta, Search Engine Land
• Google Limbo, SEOCO Blog
• SphinnCon Israel 2008, Promediacorp
• 8 Theories For AdSense Fluctuation, WebProNews
• SphinnCon Israel, SEO Scientist
• SphinnCon Israel summary more to come later, illuminea.com
• Yahoo Answers Links Not Working, Search Engine Journal
• Experimento: no entrar en AdSense durante das, adseok
• First SphinnCon Evar!, YBO Interactive Blog
• More Google Backlinks, for Free!, Ginside.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 6, 2008, Search Engine Land
• The Great Search War or Search War I, Search Newz
• There is surely something good for you in this list, Keener Living
• Zicam and the Reputation Management Fiasco, techipedia

Posted at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

This is funny to any Jewish person who has cleaned for Pesach:

Now, I wonder how much tinfoil this took. Too funny.

Posted at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Religion | Comments (6) (0)

To continue my documentation of my Israel trip, I'll pick up from leaving beitar. So we take a taxi from Beitar to Jerusalem with my parents. I know I am getting a good deal on that taxi ride because my brother or sister-in-law speak the language and if you speak the language, you don't get ripped off.

The guy drops me off at the hotel, the bellhop takes our piles and piles of bags (99% of it not being mine). They initially tell us our room isn't available but then a minute later, they said it was now available. So instead of leaving our stuff with the bellhop, he brings it up to our room. I give him some US dollars, which is now not worth as much as it was a year or two ago in Israel. We put our stuff down, I lock my precious laptop in the safe and we head to Cup O Joe for drinks and free WiFi.

I order something to drink and my wife does as well. I then pull out my iPhone and I see I can connect to a network for free. I connect and download emails to my iPhone. A guy then comes over to me and asks me if I was using an iPhone (the first of many comments on my iPhone while traveling in Israel). Oh, forgot to mention, Israel's airport as some sweet fast Internet, downloaded email there as well. We continue to drink, while I mess around with email - knowing that WiFi is a security risk but willing to take the risk at that time.

After Cup O Joe we go to both Geula and Ben Yehuda street to do some "shopping." That is where I found the touch of Google in Jerusalem, by the way...

I quickly learn that not only do I hate shopping in American stores, I also hate shopping in Israeli stores. I get this tiring and sick feeling going into a store, hard to explain. Anyway, as my wife looks for stuff to buy, I try to pick up free Wifi spots in town. The most popular network I was able to find was Unwire Jerusalem.

We go into a few stores and my wife buys some stuff from one of them. Now this guy is a smooth talker. Everything 50% off. I like you, this costs X but Ill give it to you for Y. No tourism, need to make a sale... Etc. Etc. The whole time my wife is saying, what a great deal and I am thinking, we are getting ripped off. In any event, thinking like that while on vacation is not healthy, so we buy some things, which in hindsight, were probably good deals.

Then I finally convince my wife to head back to the hotel. As we begin to walk back, we bump into my parents who are going to lunch. So, being frugal, I latch on and score a free meal at a popular restaurant in town. Then we all walk back to our respective lodges.

At that point, I sign up for a week's worth of Internet at the hotel. The hotel speed is grossly over prices and incredibly slow. I do some email processing, some feeds, etc and then I think we go out to dinner, just the two of us, at a nice place.

Anyway, I learned that day - that shopping in Israel also makes me feel ill.

Posted at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Category: Family , Food , Shopping , Travels | Comments (7) (0)

So after my my flight to Israel, my brother picked us up in a van and drove us back to his home in Beitar Illit. Beitar Illit is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, just outside of Jerusalem. It is also known as one of the most Jewish orthodox communities in the world.

As soon as we arrived, my two nieces and sister-in-law were waiting outside for us. So were several dozen other kids, who happen to be watching a broken down bus in front of my brother's home. After we made our way with our bags past the heard of children, we said our hellos. I then skipped into the room with Internet and began working. Pause...

My brother just upgraded to a higher connection 5mbps or something like that. The new ISP controls his wireless router, and uses mac addresses to give access. The issue is, my computer would not connect, so I used a hard wire. But when we called to ask the ISP why, we got a weird response. So here is that story...

My brother calls his ISP. After telling the tech rep the story, the tech rep decided to get his supervisor on, since he couldn't figure it out. His supervisor comes on and starts talking to my brother. My brother tried to tell him what the issue was, but the supervisor would not listen. So the original tech guy told his supervisor to listen to my brother. Then the supervisor told the original tech guy, "you don't tell me what to do!" and hung up the phone. The original tech guy said, "hello, hello, are you there" to his supervisor and then hung up. We were left without an answer. That is typical Israel for you. :)

Since I arrived late, I was unable to do the billing that day. Instead, I just did the feeds for Danny, which was good timing for him. I then did some forum stuff and organized a trillion emails. Then an hour or so later was shabbos. We showered before shabbos and then turned off our work stuff and went to synagogue (shul). At shul I saw a childhood friend that moved to the community there, so that was a nice surprise.

Then we came back and my sister-in-law fed us like we never ate before - yes, I was in heaven. :) Then some chatting and then sleep. Then the same thing Saturday day.

Shabbos ended and I went back on the computer to do more email (all the emails from the Friday workday), tons... Then after email, I did all the billing. After a couple of hours, I was then able to finish billing and then did some of the feeds and more work. Felt bad but it had to get done. Then I went back to the family to do family stuff.

Sunday AM we left Baitar to go to Jerusalem and our hotel. More on that later...

Posted at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Travels | Comments (2) (0)

As promised, I will be sharing many of the experiences I had during my Israel trip on this blog. I figured I start from our starting point, the flight to Israel.

My wife, my mother and father all took the same flight. In fact, I booked them all, so that I could make sure we all sit next to each other. My parents best friends ended up on that flight as well. But the rest of the Bar Mitzvah crew and friends took other flights. We didn't get the best price but we go fair prices.

In any event, we flew Continental because they had the best price at the time for the dates we wanted to go. In addition, I fly continental a lot and I wanted the miles. We took the afternoon flight that got us in Friday morning. We boarded the plane about an hour late, If I remember correctly and didn't take off until after 2 hours after the time we were suppose to. The picture above is me checking email as often as possible before we were about to take off. In fact, we didn't take off until it was after dark.

The movies on the way to Israel were pretty bad. Sadly, I did not sleep. But it was Friday and I slept a lot Friday night and was ready to go Saturday morning.

There were really no glitches on the flight to Israel. We landed an hour or two after scheduled but it worked out well. My Israeli Brother (who comments here every now and then) picked us up in a van and took us back to his place.

The security on Continental seems like a joke compared to El Al, but what do I know. The flight was less packed then a typical El Al flight because the plane is smaller. Continental had seats in the format of 3-3-3, my El Al flights are in the format of 3-5-3 and seem like they have more rows. So less people = less noise and it was less noisy.

So that was my flight to Israel on Continental. More to come in a series of posts on my trip to Israel in 2008.

Posted at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (3) (0)

I know I haven't been posting about the trip why I am here... I apologize. But I promise....

I will post when I get back to a normal schedule. The Internet connection is way too slow, way too slow. The time is limited between everything I need to do.

My computer related priorities are:
- RustyBrick Work
- SER Forum Research
- SEL Blog/News Research

Then if I have time, I do other things - but with the Internet connection being so slow, the above three are taking way too long.

So I haven't had time to post about personal stuff. But I'll post next week, I got tons of pictures.

Posted at 3:57 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Yesterday was SphinnCon Israel and I have a huge write up on it at the Search Engine Roundtable. Overall, i am very pleased on how it turned out...

Today, they were doing some construction in Kikar Shabbat (probably spelling wrong), off Strauss in Geula, Jerusalem. The traffic was madness, pure madness.

It goes on and on and on.

Posted at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips , Travels | Comments (1) (0)

I am off to SphinnCon Israel soon. The time zone stuff is really weird, 1am in NY and its the morning here. Anyway...

Branko is picking me up. My dad, who is also in for the bar mitzvah, is coming with us. Should be cool.

Things are going well. I am going to meet some of the people at JCT first and then we begin the conference. I'll make sure to post pictures and some of my thoughts.

I hope everything goes smoothly. I am told there is a change to the schedule already. But the best part of SphinnCon's is that they are relaxed. So if we start off with a 30 minute cocktail, and then start the presentations, I am sure no one would mind.

See those of you that are coming soon, others... see you later.

Posted at 1:02 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (1) (0)

I was walking around "town" in Jerusalem, by Ben Yehuda street. And I walked by this sticker of Google. I had to do a double take, and then snapped a pic of it on my iPhone.

I am picking up wifi spots all over the place with my iPhone. Just hope I don't get hit with a bill. The AT&T web site has yet to show any international activity, but it might be slow to update.

Tomorrow is SphinnCon Israel!

Posted at 3:15 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)

I get on a 10 hour flight that is delayed 2+ hours and when I land, I learn Microsoft is likely gonna buy Yahoo.

Anyway, I landed and got to my brother at about 6am (EST). I jump on feeds as soon as I see Danny's twitter and go through like 700 feeds since yesterday at 3pm (EST). Then Danny posts on Microsoft, wow!

Anyway, this is me on the plane before taking off, I was sitting like that for two hours...

Yes, I need a shave.

Then this is a picture after we land, driving towards Jerusalem.

Sundown is in about an hour and got to go offline again for about 25 hours... I could use some sleep.

Posted at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (1) (0)