Lurking Is Dead. Long Live Lurking!

Interesting to see a couple thought leaders chiming in on this almost in concert, but both Mitch Joel and Seth are imploring us to blog, which is what I think both you and I need to hear.

Seth Godin and Mitch Joel Command You - Blog! Blog because it's free. Because it's a chance to claim your particular space and have your say. Blog because the last thing you want is for your mom to get into it before you.

I don't know if this has to do with a lack of new voices, or microblogging stealing the thunder as of late. But we can all recognize the value in exercising our writing skills, that's for user. Clutter may be the disease of American writing, but on the web our contributions find unique ways to compliment and influence one another, which is truly unique. It's almost our duty to bolster the ongoing conversation these days rather than let the conversation happen around us. This is a responsibility that I have woefully neglected to honor for far too long. Lurkers are lame, and my early 2009 New Years resolution is to stop being one.

What about you? Do you have a little too much lurking in your diet?

Chris Matthews Rickrolled!

In what has to be the only funny application of la Rickroll, uber pundit Chris Matthews was greeted with an '80s backdrop while, uh, punditing during last night's veep debate.

Ch-ch-ch-check it out:


While I completely missed the debates (I don't even have an excuse - I've got freaking Tivo), the media fallout has been enough to make me feel like I was there. Getting Rickrolled.

Shear Genius

Jon Arbuckle Was One Angry Dude...

I've never been a Garfield fan. Nor a Jon Arbuckle fan (and don't get me started on freakin' Odie.) But there is a little bit of magic in Garfield strips without the Garfield.

Their note at the top of the site provides a bleak comment on the mental state of one Jon Arbuckle:

"Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."

To wit:

Wondrous, wondrous stuff.

Michael Grey had it right... Google Knols are coming.

Wayyy back in 2007 (what I would term the "Salad Days") Michael Grey noted a potential by-product (or maybe main product) of Google's new Knol product would be an increased layer of organic ranking competition.

That is to say, Google will reference itself in it's search results, like it currently does with You Tube, Product Search & Image Search.

I didn't know what to think on the matter initially, but Google Knols went live yesterday - and today things have changed.

To wit:

• Search for "Type 1 Diabetes" - Google Knols Ranks #5
• Search for "Diarrhea" - Google Knols Ranks #6
• Search for "Jaw Fractures" - Google Knols is #7

What does this mean for me and you?

Well, organic Google rankings have a number of obvious benefits; website traffic, general awareness, etc. Ranking organically can also have a strong affect on PPC response as well, creating higher click through & converstion rates due to your "authority" status (particularly when 80% of new customers believe they found you.)

It will certainly be interesting the see how this plays out over the new few months, and something in me says this Beta is going to have more of a change than Pay-Per-Action did.

Only time will tell.

One Absolute Analytics Must Have

You've got analytics, right?

That doesn't mean you have all the data you need to make the best decisions with your web marketing.

One major issue I've always had with web analytics (Google Analytics in particular) is the lack of broad and phrase match reporting... The innumerable variants just get lumped into the mix with the exact match keywords.

Not anymore!

Thanks to the brilliant minds over at ROI Revolution (who you need to be watching BTW), you can use their Google Analytics Keyword Sleuth Tool to track the exact keywords your paid search traffic is using to find you (and you're paying for...)

Why should you care? Check this out:

• I cannot tell you how valuable this resource has been for locating literally dozens of negative keywords for instant removal.
  
• On the other hand, there are now thousands of keyword variants for me to pick through! To hell with blind keyword research!

This, and internal search analytics, are absolute key measurements for any search marketer worth their salt. Take a look at the two and tell me you can't say the same!

Cool tricks, cool tricks!

In case you missed it, Yo Gabba Gabba is one magical show.

Dancing robots, one-eyed Munos... My kiddos love it (and I have a slight fondness for all things my kids appreciate.)

Some other folks seem to have taken to the show, to the tune of a hand-crafted Muno doll:


Just look at how relaxed this little guy is: (courtesy of crafster.org)


It also appears they have a wonderful collection of both adult & kid clothes for sale. Fun stuff for birthdays!

Johnny Cash + Muppets = Goodness

One -- Surefire -- Way Not To Get The Job

My company hires people. Most do, right? Our Marketing department acts as a kind of application gatekeeper - we manage the relationships with vendors, post jobs and funnel applicants to the correct people, basically, we're team players.

Sometimes we get loads - LOADS - of applicants for certain positions, and as a department, our policy is not to screen resumes, but to funnel as efficiently as possible.

That may soon change.

In reviewing resumes for a position within my company, my Sales Manager dropped this on my report's desk:

A little closer inspection reveals a neat little fact about this would-be job seeker:

At least this is an honest job seeker. Jim says he sides with honesty over knowledge. But in this case, I think there was a little too much of both....