[signal to noise]
...daily rants on politics, life, media and the general state of the world
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- More on Googlebombs
Following up on my post the other day about Googlebombs, I noticed an intersting piece about the topic on SEM firm Apogee's blog. It offers some tips to webmasters that are concerned with playing by Google's new rules.
Trying to keep up with how Google and Yahoo! index sites can be pretty challenging, so having an SEO Company like Apogee offer free advice on a blog is pretty helpful.
this is a pay per post entry
Fri, 02 Feb 2007 04:10:40 +0000 - iPhone vs. Chocolate
Does anyone remember that Verizon launched its own MP3 service for the LG Chocolate last year? The folks at GigaOM seem to have forgotten this and are scalding the carrier for reportedly turning down the opportunity to be the service provider for Apple's new iPhone.
Maybe that deal was too far down the pipe for Verizon to sign a pact with Apple. Either way, it shows Verizon was a first mover in the category, not conservative as one commentor suggests, and they probably were able to work out a better deal with LG than Apple was willing to offer.
Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:33:24 +0000 - Google Halts ‘Miserable Failure’ Link to President Bush
This is kind of suspicious...
Just last week, the Google Webmaster's Blog had a "Quick word about Googlebombs" post on their blog, and today the New York Times is reporting that the most famous Googlebomb of them all (President Bush being linked to the search term "miserable failure") has been taken down. Here's the scoop.
I could understand Google wanting to prevent these kinds of pranks, but if their blog posting is true and Google bombs are indeed so rare that they're NOT a very high priority for Google, then the timing of this NYTimes piece is a bit suspect. The original Google blog post said nothing about it, but one has to wonder if the White House pressured Google into taking this down?
Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:17:40 +0000 - Vacation Home...In Bulgaria
That's it, I need to start investing my money abroad. A buddy of mine got beachfront property in Croatia for dirt cheap and now prices are moving up. The next dream home hot spot? Bulgaria! That's right. Bulgaria has it all, the sea, mountains, you name it. And it's cheaper than West Virginia. According to Wikipedia, "Geographically and climatically, Bulgaria is noted for its diversity, with the landscape ranging from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mild and sunny weather of the Black Sea coast, from the typically continental Danubian Plain (ancient Moesia) in the north to the strong Mediterranean influence in the valleys of Macedonia and the lowlands in the southernmost parts of Thrace."
For not a lot of money, you can be living it up in a quaint Sofia property and taking in the cultural richness of this historical capital.
This is a pay per post.
Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:52:23 +0000 - The True State of the Union
Below is Jim Webb's rebuttal to the President's State of the Union Address last night:
Good evening.
I'm Senator Jim Webb, from Virginia, where this year we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown - an event that marked the first step in the long journey that has made us the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth.
It would not be possible in this short amount of time to actually rebut the President's message, nor would it be useful. Let me simply say that we in the Democratic Party hope that this administration is serious about improving education and healthcare for all Americans, and addressing such domestic priorities as restoring the vitality of New Orleans.
Further, this is the seventh time the President has mentioned energy independence in his state of the union message, but for the first time this exchange is taking place in a Congress led by the Democratic Party. We are looking for affirmative solutions that will strengthen our nation by freeing us from our dependence on foreign oil, and spurring a wave of entrepreneurial growth in the form of alternate energy programs. We look forward to working with the President and his party to bring about these changes.
There are two areas where our respective parties have largely stood in contradiction, and I want to take a few minutes to address them tonight. The first relates to how we see the health of our economy - how we measure it, and how we ensure that its benefits are properly shared among all Americans. The second regards our foreign policy - how we might bring the war in Iraq to a proper conclusion that will also allow us to continue to fight the war against international terrorism, and to address other strategic concerns that our country faces around the world.
When one looks at the health of our economy, it's almost as if we are living in two different countries. Some say that things have never been better. The stock market is at an all-time high, and so are corporate profits. But these benefits are not being fairly shared. When I graduated from college, the average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker did; today, it's nearly 400 times. In other words, it takes the average worker more than a year to make the money that his or her boss makes in one day.
Wages and salaries for our workers are at all-time lows as a percentage of national wealth, even though the productivity of American workers is the highest in the world. Medical costs have skyrocketed. College tuition rates are off the charts. Our manufacturing base is being dismantled and sent overseas. Good American jobs are being sent along with them.
In short, the middle class of this country, our historic backbone and our best hope for a strong society in the future, is losing its place at the table. Our workers know this, through painful experience. Our white-collar professionals are beginning to understand it, as their jobs start disappearing also. And they expect, rightly, that in this age of globalization, their government has a duty to insist that their concerns be dealt with fairly in the international marketplace.
In the early days of our republic, President Andrew Jackson established an important principle of American-style democracy - that we should measure the health of our society not at its apex, but at its base. Not with the numbers that come out of Wall Street, but with the living conditions that exist on Main Street. We must recapture that spirit today.
And under the leadership of the new Democratic Congress, we are on our way to doing so. The House just passed a minimum wage increase, the first in ten years, and the Senate will soon follow. We've introduced a broad legislative package designed to regain the trust of the American people. We've established a tone of cooperation and consensus that extends beyond party lines. We're working to get the right things done, for the right people and for the right reasons.
With respect to foreign policy, this country has patiently endured a mismanaged war for nearly four years. Many, including myself, warned even before the war began that it was unnecessary, that it would take our energy and attention away from the larger war against terrorism, and that invading and occupying Iraq would leave us strategically vulnerable in the most violent and turbulent corner of the world.
I want to share with all of you a picture that I have carried with me for more than 50 years. This is my father, when he was a young Air Force captain, flying cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift. He sent us the picture from Germany, as we waited for him, back here at home. When I was a small boy, I used to take the picture to bed with me every night, because for more than three years my father was deployed, unable to live with us full-time, serving overseas or in bases where there was no family housing. I still keep it, to remind me of the sacrifices that my mother and others had to make, over and over again, as my father gladly served our country. I was proud to follow in his footsteps, serving as a Marine in Vietnam. My brother did as well, serving as a Marine helicopter pilot. My son has joined the tradition, now serving as an infantry Marine in Iraq.
Like so many other Americans, today and throughout our history, we serve and have served, not for political reasons, but because we love our country. On the political issues - those matters of war and peace, and in some cases of life and death - we trusted the judgment of our national leaders. We hoped that they would be right, that they would measure with accuracy the value of our lives against the enormity of the national interest that might call upon us to go into harm's way.
We owed them our loyalty, as Americans, and we gave it. But they owed us - sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it.
The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable - and predicted - disarray that has followed.
The war's costs to our nation have been staggering. Financially. The damage to our reputation around the world. The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism. And especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve.
The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military. We need a new direction. Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos. But an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.
On both of these vital issues, our economy and our national security, it falls upon those of us in elected office to take action.
Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.
Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves "as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other." And he did something about it.
As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. "When comes the end?" asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.
These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.
Thank you for listening. And God bless America.
Wed, 24 Jan 2007 21:47:00 +0000 - I can't quit you!
Damn it! I was all ready to throw in the towel, but then I remembered about the children. I'm going to keep whoring it for PPP.
Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:46:09 +0000 - Krazy Phones
I'm shopping for some new cell phones. My LG is finally about ready to kick it (as did my LG fridge recently...one month past the warranty no less). So I'm staying away from LG. One phone that's been looking interesting is the new Motorola Krzr K1.
But I'm also intersted in learning more about the Motorola Z3. Part of me just likes the slim new designs, but the other part of me is hoping that they'll deliver some much needed quality sound. Oh, and it's an MP3 phone that doesn't cost as much as the much hyped iPhones Apple just announced.
Both the The Motorola KRZR K1 and The Motorola Z3 look pretty good to me.
That reminds me...I have an LG Chocolate and it sucks.Time for something new.
This is a pay per post.
Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:38:48 +0000 - Vote for Rory
I'm not much of a hockey fan, but I thought this was an interesting way to illustrate the power of the internets.
One lonely hockey fan decided to make it his mission to get one mediocre hockey player onto the roster for the 2007 NHL All Star by starting a website and getting people to vote for him...and it's working!
As of last week, Rory Fitzpatrick (who has played for 5 teams and scored just 9 goals in his 11-year career) is second in the polls behind Scott Niedermayer (14 seasons, 131 goals, 438 assists) by about 19,000 votes.
http://www.voteforrory.com/
Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:45:10 +0000 - Taking Care of Business
2007 may be the year where I finally decide to strike out on my own and start a business. I've got a few ideas perculating, now it's just a matter of doing some homework and figuring out how to get things started. There a bunch of sites that offer free business info, so I'm going to take some time this holiday break to take a look at some of them and see what I need to do to get things off the ground.
I'm going to have to dusto off some old copies of Inc., Entrepreneur and Fast Company that I've had piled up in my office for a couple of years now too. And, I need to find some smart people that are willing to go in on this with me...I can't give too much information right now, but it's going to be some sort of online media business.
This is a Pay Per Post entry.
Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:12:07 +0000 - The Venice Project
The people that brought you Kazaa and Skype are getting into the online video business. I bet they have another ultra-popular (yet difficult to monetize) hit on their hands.
From GigaOM:
Ever since we interviewed Janus Friis27, the co-founder of Skype about The Venice Project, his latest start-up that plans to use peer-to-peer technology to disrupt the television industry28, we have been intrigued and have been dying to get a look at the service.
Even though they have launched a beta program29, an invite to the service hasn’t been forthcoming. Like a lot of you who left a comment in response to a previous post, looking for an invite, we don’t have one either. But that didn’t stop us from trying to get a peek at the service, and now we have, thanks to some well-placed friends who were willing to share their exclusive access for exactly 30 minutes. What follows is a firsthand look at the Venice Project and what we found inside the most awaited new application on planet broadband.
Fri, 22 Dec 2006 13:59:55 +0000
