Daily Search Coverage:

Microsoft cuts back support hours. Microsoft hijacks Yahoo. AdWords updates quality score. Google scans PDFs with OCR technology. AdSense is worried about the economy. Google opens new forums. We mention politics, people jump us. Google allows beer ads now. Search in Pictures features a Yahoo astronaut. Happy Halloween!

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Halloween '08 From The Search Industry
2. Microsoft adCenter Drops Sunday Support Hours
3. SEOs Make Microsoft & Yahoo An Example on Google Maps Hijacking Hole
4. Google AdWords To Take Ad Position Into Account For Quality Score
5. Google Makes All PDF Documents Copy & Paste Friendly with OCR
6. Is the Google AdSense Team Worrying About the Economic Downturn?
7. Google Opens New Interactive Help Forums One at a Time
8. Google, The Unbiased Company, Has CEO Backing Obama

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Spooky Search Engines On Halloween
2. Google Updates AdWords Quality Score To Be "Fairer"
3. Google Now Allowing Ads For Beer
4. Search In Pictures: Yahoo's Astronaut, Android Sleeps & Google's Factory Farm

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 31st, 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 October 31st, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 30, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Ad Position, CTR & Quality Score - We're Going to do What we Already Did, PPC Discussions
• Doubts Surround Google-Yahoo Deal, Blogrunner
• Google Quality Score Update, The Inside Angle
• Google, The Unbiased Company, Has CEO Backing Obama, Sphinn
• Link Building this Week (44.2008), De Linkbouwers
• Search Engines Celebrate Halloween, WebProNews
• Spooky Search Engines On Halloween, Search Engine Land
• TaT, Internetmarketing-News.de
• Techmeme: Improvements to Ads Quality (Amanda Kelly/Inside AdWords), Techmeme

Posted at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

I received an email from Kana at LinkedIn, saying my photo is in violation of LinkedIn's profile photo guidelines. Thus they have removed my photo and asked me to upload a new one.

See, here is a screen capture of my photo being removed:

This is a copy of their email they sent me:

The photo has been removed for the following reason: The picture is in violation of the LinkedIn Photo Policy.

LinkedIn provides the opportunity for users to upload a photograph to assist other members in recognizing that person. As a professional networking site, there are guidelines to determine which types of photos are appropriate. We consider a photo appropriate as long as it does not contain content that is copyrighted or unauthorized for public distribution and does not contain offensive content. Additionally, if your photo is not an image of yourself or does not contain an actual photograph, it is considered inappropriate. Your photo has been flagged for inappropriate elements and has been removed from your profile.

You are certainly welcome to upload a different photo of yourself to remedy this situation. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us at customer_service@linkedin.com.

So, my photo is not an actual photograph of myself and that is "inappropriate."

I guess I can understand that, but my cartoon image is my "icon." I use it for all my social profiles. What a shame.

If you haven't connected with me on LinkedIn, please do so - here is my profile link.

Posted at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (3) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google posts recap of webmaster chat sessions. I spotted hacked AdWords ads. Keep your links with tracking URLs. Yahoo gains according to comScore. Old news is showing up in Google. Google webmaster tools is bugging out.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google's Third Webmaster Chat Recap Now Live
2. Google AdWords Hacked Ads In The Raw Search Results
3. Handling Tracking URLs & Keeping Your Link Popularity
4. Yahoo Gains Search Share, According to comScore
5. Why Are Old News Results Showing Up in My Google Searches?
6. Google Webmaster Tools Breakdown?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Presentations & Q&A Sessions From Google's Third Chat Session

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 30th, 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 October 30th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 29, 2008, Search Engine Land
• 4X & Your Out Google AdSense, Sphinn
• Bookmarks for October 29th from 22:31 to 22:59, Sidewalk
• Google Search Results Through RSS, TKG
• Google SearchWiki - Personalizacian de los resultados de basqueda, INNOVA
• Google Webmaster Chat : les mythes du rafarencement, Ramenos
• SEO Daily Reading - Issue 130, Raven SEO Tools

Posted at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

I cannot stand receiving email forwards, you know, those joke emails that people send to each other. Chain emails with jokes or things you must do for good luck. I can't stand them!

In fact, I am the type of guy that has the nerve to email anyone back who sends it to me with the short and to the point:

Take me off your list please.

But there is something about some of these political email forwards that I enjoy. I have even been guilty of forwarding on these emails to a select few, that I thought would enjoy the forward. There has definitely been a rise of political based emails going around. I wonder why....

In any event, I hate all email forwards 99% of the time. So don't start putting me on your list. If you do have a political email joke and you know who I am voting for, then feel free to forward it directly to me. ;-)

Posted at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , Rambling | Comments (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google eats up more than a 100 links. Google Alerts adds RSS feeds. Google does Search Wiki. Google screws Indian publishers again. AdWords API wigging out. ICRA supported by Google? Link build like a girl. adCenter upgrades. SEO blueprinting.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Can Process More Than a 100 Links Per Page
2. Google Alerts Adds RSS Option: RSS Comes To Google Web Search (Kinda)
3. Google SearchWiki : Google Expands Web Results Voting Test
4. Google AdSense Pays Publishers Wrong Amounts Again! Exchange Rate Issues
5. AdWords API Sandbox "Wigging Out" Due To Bad Data Refresh
6. Does Google Use ICRA Sitemap Tags for Adult Oriented Website Material?
7. Link Building is Like Picking Up Girls
8. Microsoft adCenter Upgrades More Than Just Their Logo
9. Your Successful SEO Campaign Starts with a Blueprint

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Rolling Out “SearchWiki”? Move Results Up, Hide Them Or Suggest Your Own

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 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 October 29th, 2008:

• Midweek Internet Roundup, Blue Fountain Media Blog
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 28, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Ask Jeeves Now a Porn Star : WTF, Reddit
• Google Rolling Out "SearchWiki"? Move Results Up, Hide Them Or Suggest Your Own, Search Engine Land
• Google SearchWiki - Google's experiment that allows users - (Alex Chitu/Google Operating System), Techmeme
• Jeeves is now a Porn Star, Tech Digest
• MRN - SEM (Search Engine Marketing), Cre8tive Flow
• Tuesday Links, Clickety Clack

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

Below are some of the articles, blog posts and discussions I found around the iPhone Siddur since we launched it. If you have ways of getting more buzz out to the appropriate market, please do.

• Siddur now available for iPhone, Jerusalem Post
• Siddur available for iPhone, JTA
• Get your prayer on...the iPhone, jew-ish.com
• El Siddur podr leerse en el iPhone, sisoyjudio
• Siddur and Zemanim Now Available for iPhone, Matzav.com
• SIDDUR AVAILABLE FOR IPHONE, Jewish Times of South Jersey
• Siddur software available for iPhone, jewishsf.com
• Phone a Prayer ?, Emanuel Rochester NY
• Barry Schwartz creates a siddur that you can download to your iPhone, Jewish Community Online
• iPhone App Developer Spotlight: Barry Schwartz and Siddur, Intuitive
• iPhone Goes Jewish, Moment Magazine Blog
• Let us pray ... in the App Store, RedEye
• Barry Schwartz creates a siddur that you can download to your iPhone, TheJC.com
• Bargains of the Day: the Kosher iPhone, The Pagan Prattle Online
• iPray: Ancient Prayers , the Jewish Insight.com
• Siddur & Zmanim for iPhone/iPod Touch , Philadelphia Jewish Voice
• Siddur & Zmanim for iPhone/iPod Touch, Chabad Info
• IPhone Siddur Application Weirdness, mosslover.com
• Made In Israel: Kosher iPhone Apps, Venture Capital Cafe
• Some of the iPhone Siddur Buzz, JTA
• iJewish – Software by Rusty Brick

Of course, there are reviews at iTunes (mostly positive) and discussions at the Google Groups.

Posted at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (0) (0)

I had a meeting today with a prospect that really knew it all. He wanted a custom site but when I showed him things and he showed me things, he really seemed to simply know it.

He actually even came to the meeting with the core components of the site in HTML and CSS. It was for demo purposes, but it showed me everything I need to know. This way I can price it out and know that I am not missing anything.

In addition, when I was going into some technologies that I wouldn't dare mention to a normal prospect, he knew them. I talked about S3, EC2, RackSpace's cloud computing, and even Google Ad Manager as opposed to OpenX - he knew them all and discussed them intelligently with me.

At one point, I even told him:

I feel like I have nothing to add, you basically are saying everything I would say.

In any event, he is not a coder and he needs a team to build out his idea. In any event, this seems to be the dream client. He knows the capabilities, the limitations and the value in what we do - without having to tell him.

Like that picture, don't ya?

Posted at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (2) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

SEOs should have a degree in marine biology. AdSense testing coupon ads? IIS is a redirect nightmare. Which AdSense unit is bad for you? Get those religious links. Does Google hate WordPress? Ask your questions to AdWords. Google Product Search adds taxonomy. Gmail does gadgets. Google Reader shows subscription stats. Microsoft launches new adCenter features. An SEO tool makes it way to the iPhone.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. What Type of Degree Is Best for an SEO or SEM?
2. Google AdSense Testing Coupon Ads?
3. How To Handle Redirecting default.asp in IIS? Duplicate Content
4. Which Is Your Worst Performing Google AdSense Unit?
5. Church SEO: Getting Religious Links
6. Why Doesn't Google Like WordPress Blogs?
7. If You Could Ask Google Anything about AdWords, What Would You Ask?
8. Google Product Search Adds New Categories

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Gmail Adds Gadgets & Google Reader Adds Subscription Stats
2. Microsoft adCenter Fall Upgrade
3. SEO Tools Come To iPhone

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 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 October 28th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 27, 2008, Search Engine Land
• A New Google AdSense Ad Style?, Google Blogoscoped
• Ask Jeeves Now a Porn Star, Yahoo! Buzz
• Linking to specific moments in a YouTube video, iohelix
• SEO Daily Reading - Issue 128, Raven SEO Tools
• The Future of Search Engine Marketing, Wolf 21

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

My parents went to Israel over the holidays and they came back with a present for their youngest son (ahem, that is me).

What did they get me? A "kosher" or "shabbos" toothbrush.

The product was designed by Kosher Innovations. They make shabbos lamps, shabbos alarm clocks and more. Because of the strict rules for Shabbos, there are certain laws you have to keep.

The manner in which you brush your teeth on Shabbos is part of that. This toothbrush is designed to make sure you do not break any Shabbos laws while brushing your teeth.

For more details on how it works, see here. I am sure some of you will think it is crazy and ridiculous, but I find it to be clever.

Posted at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion | Comments (3) (0)

Spotted via iPodNN.com, LogMeIn.com, a free computer sharing app, like GoToMyPC.com, is now beta testing an iPhone app that allows you to remotely use your computer via your iPhone.

You can apply for the beta program over at logmein.com/IgnitionPreview, I have applied.

I rarely use LogMeIn anymore, I prefer Remote Desktop and I can use Remote Desktop on my iPhone, which I only use to show off how cool my iPhone is.

But LogMeIn does have it's advantages.

Very cool!

Posted at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Category: | Comments (2) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google Sitemaps is to be fixed soon. Microsoft logos up adCenter. Jeeves becomes a porn star. Google AdSense tries a new ad style? Google links nowhere. AdWords Editor gets a fix with 6.5.1. Link to YouTube videos, anywhere. Safely host those adult images. Google Earth does an iPhone app. And check my video recap.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: October 26, 2008
2. Google Sitemaps Bug To Be Fixed Soon?
3. Microsoft Gives adCenter a Logo
4. Ask Jeeves Now a Porn Star
5. A New Google AdSense Ad Style?
6. Google Search Engine Sports Broken Link, Few Notice
7. Numerous Google AdWords Editor Issues Reported, Fixed
8. Link Your Users to Any Starting Time in a YouTube Video
9. Hosting Adult Images? Use Directories So Google Doesn't Filter You

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Earth For iPhone
2. YouTube Adds Deep Links & Customizable Home Page

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 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 October 27th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 24, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Google Add Universal Search to AdWords Adverts?, Gary Reid
• Jeeves ahora actor porno?, ojobuscador.com
• Mau serviao como tactica de link building, Marketing de Busca e SEO
• Nuevos diseos en los anuncios de google adsense?, Tengo Un.Com.ar
• Search Engine Wrap-up Oct 26, Pandia
• The Weekly Insider 10-13-08 to 10-17-08, eVisibility
• Underscore ou tiret dans les URLs ?, Relevant Traffic
• Weekly Search Buzz (27 Oct 08), ankitrawat.com
• YouTube Adds Deep Links & Customizable Home Page, Search Engine Land

Posted at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

The other day, I polled you guys and asked, Should I Share My Political Views?

17 comments and 60 votes later, most of you said I should share my political views. 53% said I should, while 38% said I should not and 8% said it depends how I do it. Actually, one of the "other" responses was "who cares." :)

So, if I would go with popular vote, I would be sharing my political views in a tasteful manner. But my wife commented and voted that she doesn't want me to share my two cents on politics. So she outranks all of those who said I should. I am sorry.

I'll sit this one out.

Posted at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (10) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google adds product images to AdWords. Google webmaster team sends out XML shirts. Google adds location aware to browsers. FeedBurner is not good at analytics. Google does canned responses, emoticons and updates mobile app. IM Broadcast launches. Google buys fighter jet. Jimmy Buffett plays at Google, Vint Cerf cookes and Google does Halloween.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Showing Product Images in AdWords, Where The Organic Results Go?
2. Google Webmaster Team Sending Letters To Sitemaps Users?
3. Google's Geolocation API Comes to the Browser
4. And Yesterday's Google Feedburner Subscriber Drop Was Brought to You By...
5. Google Labs Adds Canned Responses to Gmail -- and Emoticon Support is Now Here!
6. IM Broadcast is a YouTube for Internet Marketers

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Gmail Adds Emoticons, Canned Responses & Updates Mobile Client
2. Google Adds Fighter Jet To Air Fleet
3. Search In Pictures: Jimmy Buffett At Google, Vint Cerf Mad Scientist, & Halloween At Google

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 24th, 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 October 24th, 2008:

• Announcements: Farewell to Tamar, lifehacker.com
• Google AdWords: Now With Images, Search Engine Land
• Linky Goodness, October 17, Marketing Pilgrim
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 22, 2008, Search Engine Land
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 23, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Google Gives PPC Edge to Blue Nile, The Inside Angle
• Real Search Engine Optimization Experts are Invisible, Sphinn
• SEO Daily Reading - Issue 127, Raven SEO Tools
• Techmeme: Gmail Adds Emoticons, Canned Responses , Techmeme
• Tips for Using Google to Get Holiday Clicks , WebProNews

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

Itay Paz is running an Israeli conference named Affilicon. The conference is located at Shefayim Hotel, Shefaim, Israel and is taking place on November 24-25, 2008.

I won't be able to go, but it seems like it will be having a great line up of speakers and sessions.

I think it is great to see these conferences in Israel. We ran SphinnCon Israel last year and we hope to announce details for SMX Israel shortly.

If you are interested in SMX Israel, a conference devoted to search topics, based in the middle east, then stay tuned. The dates will likely be the last week or second to last week of January. It will likely be a two day event, in Tel Aviv somewhere. We are finalizing the details now - but it seems like it is going to happen. So stay tuned!

In the meantime, checking out Affilicon is a must for any one in the area in the internet marketing space. Affilicon and SMX in Israel will provide for a solid base of Internet marketing skills and networking for any level of skill sets.

Posted at 9:11 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (2) (0)

I have always been reluctant to post any of my political views, ever. I am of the feeling that my blogging influence, whatever that might be, should not have any influence on important matters, such as who should be our next president. Just because people may or may not like the way I write about search topics, does not give me the authority to influence how they vote.

I typically find it upsetting when I see famous people back a certain politician. I found it upsetting to see Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, use his celebrity status in the arena. I find it upsetting to see others in Hollywood or business or even religious areas influence ones vote. But maybe I am wrong. Maybe I should not feel this way?

Maybe it would be useful to myself or to my readers if I share my rational for who I support or who I don't support. Why I am leaning towards voting one way, versus another way. What matters are important to me and why... Maybe it would be useful?

At the same time, I don't feel I have the right to influence anyones decision on this matter.

Having said all of this, I think I'll leave the decision up to those of you who read here. Please vote and let me know if you want me to share my political views on the next president of the Unites State of America or not.

Here is the poll:

Posted at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (20) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Too much catching up, so hard to summarize all the news. Just see below for the past three days of my search posts.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Recent Google PageRank Discussions & Observations
2. Yahoo's Q3 2008 Earnings Announced
3. Google AdWords API Version 13 Released
4. Yahoo! Search Marketing Rolls Out New Features
5. Best Place to Get Webmaster Help for Live Search
6. How To Serve Age Verification Pages to Google For Porn or Alcohol Sites
7. Google Webmaster Tools Showing 0 Pages Indexed For Sitemaps Users
8. Stop Google From Translating Your Pages with New NoTranslate Tag
9. Google Analytics Adds Features Plus AdSense Integration
10. Welcome to Our Web Site, You Poor Thing
11. How Do You SEO for an Unknown Product?
12. How Much Traffic Does Yahoo Send You?
13. How To Become a Google Audio Ad Specialist
14. Predicting How Competitive a Search Keyword Is
15. Conversion Funnels
16. It's Holiday Time: Optimize Your Google AdWords Campaign
17. Real Search Engine Optimization Experts are Invisible
18. Is a Great Design A Sure-Shot Way for Links?
19. Yahoo To Announce Layoffs Today?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. IM Broadcast: "YouTube For Internet Marketers"
2. Yahoo's Inquisitor Now Available For Firefox & Internet Explorer
3. Click Fraud Rate Remains At 16%, Says Click Forensics

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 23rd, 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 October 23rd, 2008:

• Google Real Time Quality Scores- The Perfect 10, Search Engine War
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 20, 2008, Search Engine Land
• 20 Great SEO Sites, I Do Blogs
• Google Reinclusion into the Index, SEO and The Mike
• Google's 'First Click Free' Is Fine, Seeking Alpha
• Juicy Links: October 13 - October 17, Exclusive Concepts Blog
• Nick Carr is wrong on Google - again, mathewingram.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 21, 2008, Search Engine Land
• SEO Basics: Will Moving or Changing My Site Hurt Rankings?, Online Marketing Blog
• Survey: AdSense Earnings Glass Ceiling Doesn't Exist, KingNomar.com
• Weekly Search Buzz (19 Oct 08), ankitrawat.com

Posted at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (1) (0) | Speak

Over a year ago, I blogged about beating my nephews at Monopoly. Well, over this past holiday, they wanted a rematch - so I gave it to them and I lost.

My oldest nephew used my strategy against me. He bought up a lot of the properties before I even had a chance to purchase anything. In fact, he put hotels on the first two properties right away, and I landed on them at least 6 times on my first 8 turns around the board. After that, I just couldn't get into the game. So I got killed and my nephew beat me.

Part of losing, I had to blog that he beat me. He really played well. So now, the score is 1 to 1. We will need to play again, one day.

Posted at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Category: Family , Family | Comments (0) (0)

I cannot wait for when Qik comes out with a legit version for the iPhone. Kevin Rose blogged a video of Qik for the iPhone, which will be available in the iTunes Store for free soon. Here is his video:

Can't Wait!

Posted at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (0) (0)

I have been trying to avoid the avoidable. I was first served for Jury duty about a year ago, but they had my birth address. So after postponing a few times, I had my mother write back to them that I was no longer at that address.

This past week, I received my Jury summons at my home address. So I need to respond. Last time I postponed, I was asked to serve in lower Manhattan, which can take 1.5 hours to get to.

Thing is, I was asked to serve during the PubCon conference. But I am schedule to speak during the conference, in Vegas. So I can't serve. I first called the automated 800#, but it didn't give me the option I was looking for (i.e. the week of Thanksgiving, when it should be somewhat slow). So I called the local number and the lady who answered hooked me up with that week, as my new date to serve.

Ultimately, I do hope they don't pick me. If they do, I will proudly serve. But it will mean, I will need to wake up at 2am to get all my work done.

Posted at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (2) (0)

On Friday, I received one of those automated text messages from AT&T on my iPhone. The notification told me that AT&T's 3G network is now covering my area, including new coverage in Rockland & Bergen counties.

Hmm, as far as I know, Bergen county was covered since the iPhone 3G came out. I know Rockland county was starting seeing 3G coverage as far back as August 5, 2008. Yes, two and a half months ago. Why would AT&T send out this notification now? Did they think we didn't notice the 3G symbol at the top?

I don't get it.

Maybe they are simply saying they updated their map at http://att.com/3gcoverage which now shows the blue green coverage map:

Glad it took only 2.5 months to update the map.

Posted at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Category: | Comments (2) (0)

Remember that parking ticket I got? The one where I was not in that location at that time?

You thought I was lying, didn't you!? Well, I wasn't!

I received a letter from the Adjudication Division of New York City saying they were wrong and I was right. Well, they didn't say they were wrong, they said that I do not owe any money to them for that ticket.

This letter is written in response to your correspondence regarding the parking summons (or summonses) listed below.

Any summons listed below has been satisfied. Our records reflect that you owe nothing with respect to them. In the even that you have other parking tickets, which are not listed below, you may still be liable for them.

Please keep this letter for your records. If you receive any payment demands within the next 30 days for the summon(es) listed below, you may disregard such notices.

Very truly yours,

The New York City Department of Finance
Adjudication Division

Then they listed the summons number and that I owe nothing.

For some reason, I don't think this is the end I hear about this ticket.

Posted at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (4) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Too much catching up, so hard to summarize all the news. Just see below.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google to Host Third Webmaster Chat Event on Wednesday at Noon
2. Google Webmaster Tools is Incorrectly Displaying Keyword Positions
3. Google Accounts Terminated: What Can You Do?
4. When Can We Block SEOmoz's Linkscape Tool?
5. Tips On Getting a Perfect 10 on Google Quality Score
6. Why Does Google Try To Crawl When My Site Is Not Public?
7. Google Image Search October 2008 Update
8. Webmasters Discuss Google's "First Click Free" Program for Web Search
9. Is a Great Design A Sure-Shot Way for Links?
10. Daily Search Forum Recap: October 17, 2008
11. Weekly Search Buzz RoundUp - 10/17/08: Yahoo Update for October, Google Webmaster Tools Updates & Woot.com AdWords Ad Removed by Google
12. Google's Q3 Earnings Beat Expectations
13. Google Explains Quality Scores in AdWords
14. Google Launches AdWords Display Ad Builder, Receives Accolades
15. Google Adds Est. First Page Bid & Quality Score To AdWords Reports
16. Google Explaining Customized & Personalized Results
17. Google AdWords Showing The Search Partner Network, Finally
18. Google Drops Home Page Crawl Date From Webmaster Tools
19. Daily Search Forum Recap: October 16, 2008
20. UCLA Study: Brain Function Improves with Search
21. Google AdWords Readies iPhone Exclusive Channel
22. Google Keeps Losing in Germany: This Time Over Google Images
23. How Google Handles Flash: The Tried & Tested Version
24. Google AdWords UK Now Allowing Gambling Ads
25. Official Yahoo October 2008 Search Update Now Being Noticed
26. SEO's Discuss Google Webmaster Tools Now Showing Crawl Error Sources
27. Things You Should Expect from an SEO
28. Japanese Version of Sphinn Launches
29. YouTube Videos Not Always Playing - Why?
30. Most Publishers Don't Believe in AdSense Glass Ceiling
31. How To Optimize for Something New and Unknown
32. Is Your Web Site Optimized for Revenue?
33. Where Did the Phrase "Search Engine Optimization" Come From?
34. Google Reinclusion Request Approval Times
35. Poll Results: Google AdSense Publishers Discuss 2008 Earnings
36. Has The Economic Downturn Resulted in an Google AdSense Downturn?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google AdWords Finally Breaking Out Search Traffic From Partners
2. Search In Pictures: Buddy Guy At Yahoo, Google’s Beta Store & Yahoo Open Cupcakes
3. Google’s First Click Free Program For Web Content, Not Just News
4. Microsoft Rebranding Live Search As Windows Live Search?
5. Yahoo Plans Major Layoffs & Cost Cuts
6. Missing Data In Google Webmaster Tools? Check Your Domain Name
7. Google Hosting Live Chat Event Wednesday

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 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 October 20th, 2008:

• Adwords on Twitter!, solidcactus.com
• Bridging The Gap - YouTube Links to iTunes, Amazon, and Others, ADMAVEN
• Google Content Attributes in SERPs, SearchNewz
• Linky Goodness, October 13, Marketing Pilgrim
• Plugin para convertir categoras en subdominios, Kabytes
• Techmeme: Yahoo Improves Content Match Targeting (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Land), Techmeme
• Things I Could Have Learned at SMX, Left The Box
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 14, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Techmeme: Google 'reintroduces' gambling ads to Adwords (Chris Lake/E-consultancy.com), Techmeme
• Live Search rebranded as 'Windows Live Search'?, LiveSide
• Social Media Rock Stars Break Out In A New Way, anzman.blogspot.com
• Google and personalized search at SMX, Geeking with Greg
• Google Hosting Live Chat Event Wednesday, Search Engine Land

Posted at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (2) (0) | Speak

I track a lot of news and I am seeing a sharp influx of news stories and blog posts about companies laying off not just a few employees but a substantial percentage of their workforce.

Yes, most, if not all, cite the economic pressures as the cause for layoffs.

paidContent.org lists some of the layoffs, including layoffs at:

• Sirius
• Zillow
• SearchMe
• Hi5
• Seesmic
• Lulu
• Zivity
• SkyRider

But there are plenty more to blog or write about.

It is a shame to see. I don't think that is in the future at RustyBrick, in fact, I hope to hire some more employees right now. In any event, I cannot imagine having to let go a percent of my company. Firing one person is hard enough, firing 10, 20, 50, 100 - must be crazy - or maybe it gets easier?

Posted at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Interesting | Comments (3) (0)

I have been eagerly awaiting the new MacBook Pros for about six months now. Between running out of space and having some serious slowness issues, I am ready for a new and clean machine. So, as you know, the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros were announced Tuesday. I was offline until today for holidays and read all about the new laptops last night. I made the decision to get the new MacBook Pro.

Thing is, they are hard to find. All the 3rd party resellers (MacMall, Zone, ClubMac, etc) don't have them for at least ten days. Apple Stores seem to be sold out, at least here in St. Louis (where I am temporarily). I will call again after 12ish, to see if they got a new shipment in.

But I am ready for a new laptop, asap.

The differences don't seem all that much. But the difference between my laptop and the new one is night and day. So looking forward.

Posted at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Happy Columbus Day, oh, I mean Paddington Bear's birthday! Yahoo improves the Publisher Network. Google might go the Twitter route. Google allows mock suicide ads? Should directories be part of your budget? Google might be working with Click Forensics.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. On Columbus Day, Google Remembers Paddington Bear's 50th Birthday
2. Yahoo Improves Publisher Network Relevancy
3. Google AdWords To Use Twitter
4. Does Google Allow Ads that Mock Suicide?
5. Are Directories Still Worth Your SEO Budget?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Yahoo Improves Content Match Targeting
2. Google Now Working With Click Forensics
3. Google Logo Celebrates Paddington Bear's 50th Birthday

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 3rd, 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 October 3rd, 2008:

• Linky Goodness, October 3, Marketing Pilgrim
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 3, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Did I Got a Google Penalty ? Do I Require a Reinclusion Request?, ankitrawat.com
• Directory Links Next? Google Drops Yahoo & ODP, Sphinn
• Google fjerner anbefaling af linkkataloger, saugstrup.org
• Monday Links: Greeking, Linking, Fishing, Social, Mobile, Online Marketing Blog
• Overlooked SEO Metric: Link Placement, Search and Social
• registrazione nelle directory DMOZ e YAHOO!, blog.achille.name
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 6, 2008, Search Engine Land
• SMX East '08 Day One Live Coverage, Search Engine Land
• SMX East: Search Grows Up To Claim Its Birthright, AIM Clear Blog
• Another Wrinkle in Search Marketing, Numantra
• SMX East '08 Day Two Live Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Andrew R H Girdwood: Google, directories and monopolies, blog.arhg.net
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 8, 2008, Search Engine Land
• SMX East '08 Day Three Live Coverage, Search Engine Land
• Google Starts To Classify Content Types In Web Search, Search Engine Land
• Techmeme: Google Testing Dates on Search Snippets (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Roundtable), Techmeme
• Could A Little More Info in the SERPs Improve Relevancy?, WebProNews
• More Google Changes: Content Attributes in SERPs, Marketing Pilgrim
• Roundup Thursday for the Weeks of 9/28/08 and 10/5/08, SEOmoz
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 10, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Google Adwords usando o Twitter, fabioricotta
• Google Logo Celebrates Paddington Bear's 50th Birthday, Search Engine Land

Posted at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Most of this week, I will be in St. Louis, by the in laws for the holidays. Yes, I go offline again, tonight through Wednesday night (it hurts but I do it).

In any event, the family flew in yesterday and my brother-in-law and I decided to grab an office so we can work in peace. So I went to AMEX and found a Regus location in St. Louis. Specifically, the CityPlace Location.

This morning, we drove over in a hybrid to the office. We got here about 8:15am, later than we wanted to, and no one was here to greet us. So we waited about 10 minutes until someone came in and acted concerned that we were not helped. It was cool. We got a private office to share, it is pretty big. Has fast internet and we are off to working.

How much? $75 per day - for the whole day. Well worth it! I would do this again!

Posted at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (3) (0)

Last night, our iPhone pregnancy tool - Expecting was approved and posted to the iTunes App Store.

It is fairly more advanced than any of the other pregnancy tools. Not only does it a due date calculator, but also walks you through each week of your pregnancy. It gives you week by week tips and what to expect. It allows you to add notes to each week and even take pictures for each week. Helps you remember your next doctor's appointment. It has a checklist tool, a contraction timer and a contacts database with 1-click calling.

For more information on this nifty tool, check out the Expecting page, it has screen captures and so on.

Also, to access it via iTunes and maybe even by it for $4.99, see go here.

Posted at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (1) (0)

I am offline starting tonight, until tomorrow night. It is Yom Kippur - a day of repentance or day of atonement... Basically, we fast from tonight until I think a bit after 7pm (in the NY area). We also spend almost the whole day in synagogue, from 8 in the morning until after 7 at night.

So don't email me. :)

Here is the special theme for the Search Engine Roundtable.

After Yom Kippur, I catch up for hours (only one day offline, so not too bad).

Jews - have an easy fast, meaningful prayers and a healthy new year!

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

Sorry for lack of bloggin here. Been busy at:

Posted at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) (0)

I was uploading my next video cast to YouTube for a Sunday release and I noticed the new progress bar.

I am a huge fan of knowing how far I have progressed. :) So I am happy. If you scan the comments on the YouTube blog post, you will notice everyone simply wants one thing.

You got it! Video lengths longer than 10 minutes. I personally would love that. I always have to crop my videos to 10 minutes or less, to make sure they can be visible on YouTube.

But the progress bar is nice - thanks YT!

Posted at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Category: Computers | Comments (4) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google drops directory links from webmaster guidelines. Live Search hiccuped. Yahoo launches new Site Explorer interface. Google still messing with case sensitivity. AdWords hijacks continue. We got the Google webmaster report for October. Google uses geo data for quality score. Search in Pictures features Google Masters. SMX East is Monday!

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Directory Links Next? Google Drops Yahoo & ODP Directory from Guidelines
2. Small Live Search Update or Hiccup?
3. Yahoo's New Site Explorer Design Now Officially Live
4. Google Still Showing Different Results for Upper Case vs Lower Case?
5. When Will Google AdWords Prevent Account Hijackings?
6. We're Liveblogging SMX East Next Week
7. Webmasters Report October 2008 Google SERP Changes

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Adds Geographic Data To AdWords Quality Score
2. Google Removes Directory Links From Webmaster Guidelines
3. Search In Pictures: Google Masters, Google Bus & Google Time

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 3rd, 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 October 3rd, 2008:

• Google Blogs & Other "Front Pages" For The Blogosphere, Search Engine Land
• Link Baiting For Beginners, Internet Marketing Access
• Apple fights with review quality, BigMouthMedia
• Google Adds Geographic Data To AdWords Quality Score, Search Engine Land
• Google Removes Directory Links From Webmaster Guidelines, Search Engine Land
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 2, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Techmeme: Google No Longer Suggests Directory Submission (beu blog), Techmeme
• Who Is?, One Way Links

Posted at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Monday, I received a warm letter from the New York City Department of Finance. The letter said I was late in paying a parking ticket that I received on August 7th.

I scratched my head... I don't remember getting a parking ticket in the past year or so. So I then opened my calendar to see if I had any meetings in NYC. I did not. I then checked my email for the same thing and I did not have any meetings in NYC that day. I then asked my wife, but she never drives to the city herself.

The location as 73rd 1st Avenue. I pulled up Google Maps Street Views to see if it might remind me of anything:

View Larger Map

Nope, I don't think I ever parked that far down on the east side.

So I decided to call NYC yesterday. They said, I need to write them a letter telling them that I was not there. They also informed me that I can download the ticket over here, so I did that.

The plate number the cop wrote down was illegible. The second letter looks like a B, S or and R. The car the cop wrote was for a blue jeep, I do not own a blue jeep.

So I wrote them a letter, mailed in my car registrations and told them I was not there.

I heard some horror stories about people getting these claims and it leading to NY suspending their licenses. Hope that doesn't happen to me.

Posted at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (3) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Sorry, been crazy busy catching up. See links below cause I can't give a summary today.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google AdWords API Report Download Timeout Issues
2. How Do I Get Backlinks for an E-Commerce Web Site?
3. Search Engine Optimization Improves with Site Size -- Or Does It?
4. Will Using Google Analytics Hurt My Search Engine Rankings?
5. Google's Share Price Dips Below $400 After Tense Monday on Wall Street
6. Why Is There Only One Ad In My Google AdSense Block?
7. Using Google Translate for AdWords Destination URLs
8. Google AdWords Rejects Legitimate Company for Trademark Violations, But Why?
9. Google Limits 500 Sites in Google Webmaster Tools
10. Google Blog Search Relaunches With News Front Page
11. Is Google's Matt Cutts Telling the Whole Truth & Nothing But The Truth?
12. Google Images Adds "Photo Content" Filter To Search
13. Yahoo Charging More & Giving Less
14. Next Week's Charity Party is Coming Up at SMX East
15. Google Lets You Search as if it was 2001
16. How to Diagnose Your Site With Google Webmaster Tools
17. Introducing Microsoft SearchPerks: Get Paid to Search ... Again

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Toolbar 5 For Firefox Adds Features
2. Google User Interface Test Gives Searches Control Over Snippets
3. Yahoo Search Update & Google Toolbar PageRank Update
4. YouTube Now Showing Post-Roll Video Ads

Daily Link Finds:

This is the October 2nd, 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 October 2nd, 2008:

• Friday Recap, BruceClay.com
• A Clean URL is a Good URL, Find Resolution
• AdSense Exchange Rate Blunder, WebProNews
• Do Tag Pages Benefit Your SEO Strategies, Media Design SEO
• Google Goofs On Adsense Payments To India Bloggers, Pro Blogging News
• Google Smackdown Happened to aimClear Blog, AIM Clear Blog
• How to Get on the Sphinn Front Page, delade
• The Search Engine Blather Blog, howtoseo.net
• Where to submit Chrome feedback?, Matt Cutts
• Google to Mark URL Rewriting as SPAM??, DigitalPoint Forums
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 29, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Yahoo Search Update , Search Engine Land
• Yahoo SERP's Update Towards The End Of September ?, ankitrawat.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 1, 2008, Search Engine Land
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 30, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Stale vs Fresh Document as Defined by Google, Search Engine Journal
• A Playoff Worthy Lineup Of Links - This Month In SEO - 9/08, TheVanBlog
• Lipstick on the Google Blogsearch Face, BPWrap
• Maximum 500 Sites Allowed In One Google Webmaster Account, ankitrawat.com
• My Concerns About The Proposed Google-Yahoo Search Advertising Deal (In Context Of AOL Search, Rishabh Singla

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