My bus got re-routed this morning coming into work. As we turned back onto 2nd avenue the normally subdued workers on their way to work started buzzing towards one side of the bus. There was a lady wrapped in a blanket threatening to jump from about the 7th floor. Police were trying to talk her down. They had the bullhorn from the street, and a couple more helping from the window she walked out onto the ledge from.
Here’s the article for proof http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/353242_jump01.html.
I don’t know how it all went down (another bad pun…sorry) but I didn’t want to stick around to see something I’d regret seeing. I made that mistake by watching the Daniel Pearl video and I’ll never do it again.
Anyway, when I told a co-worker about it, he reminded me that it is “Leap” day afterall. So wrong.
wow. Who isn’t talking about this in the tech/finance world? It’s everywhere with such varied opinions. For us nerds it’s way more interesting than the SuperBowl right now. I think overall it’s a smart and probably necessary (only) move for Microsoft to make.
Reasons why I like it - in order:
1. Flickr
2. Delicious
3. Yahoo mail
3. Yahoo answers
4. Upcoming.org, mybloglog, yahoo finance, yahoo autos, yahoo music, yahoo real estate
5. Yahoo Personals
6. Yahoo Games
7. HotJobs
6. Yahoo portal, search, brand, etc (oh yea, they do have significant search share)
Holy crap! We have to realize Yahoo isn’t just a search engine. They have been and are still the #1 most visited site on the internet for a reason. They have done SO much better at Google at finding promising properties that give them relationships between websites, clickstream data, account and user info, etc. All this stuff is looking so important for the next generation of search. They just haven’t been able to focus under a cohesive strategy.
When I think of being tied to a website, it’s really about places I have an account. I’m tied to flickr and delicious. Google has me with gmail (but yahoo mail is WAY bigger than gmail). Search?…we still type a destination into an address bar or use the integrated search bar in firefox/camino. There’s a reason they push their own toolbar, and an even bigger reason they want to have an account..be it with igoogle, youtube, gmail, google analytics. Owning that user, being able to communicate to that use, is huge. On paper, Yahoo is way ahead in that game, and I really think it’s still a big one. They just need some of that peanut-butter manifesto focus.
Reasons why I don’t:
1. Focus hasn’t really been Microsoft’s strength
Rae: Smart SEO’s won’t have to adjust much because they’ve been marketing their asses off anyway and saw things like universal search coming. Smart SEO’s have become and are becoming overall online marketers, forcing their link development strategies to get wider and more creative and at times, a side effect of an overall “marketing plan”.
Great comment from a a ’sweet as sugar’ post on link building. There goes Rae giving back to the community again… 
This follows on my favorite SEO post this year. Lazy SEO Manifesto
I’ve been doing a lot of other stuff besides what I’d consider SEO recently. But in reality, I haven’t become a less effective SEO, just more passive.
I think of it more like trying to see something in the dark you just can’t quite make out. You know - that weird things that if you don’t look directly at it you can often times see it best in the peripheral. You’re looking at it, you know you’re focusing on it, but it’s everything else you do that lets you get the best results.
Good SEO has moved so swiftly from tech guru to solid online marketing strategy and execution, then blurs into good marketing overall, and now even shoves itself into product development. All the social media fun-ness going on right now that gets SO much attention from the SEO community is really a bunch of savvy marketers finding a need/gap in a market and expertly filling it. It fits in SEO because that’s most of the pros’ background, but the term link-builder is really selling yourself short. Provost is in the right direction with “internet audience building” but I think it goes even deeper. You’re finding niches (markets), creating content/widgets/sites (products) to fill a void, then positioning that product to get the most exposure to the largest audience. THIS IS MARKETING DONE RIGHT! Kotler would more than approve. This is the kind of philosophy that is taught and written about by marketing professors and gurus everywhere but put into action daily.
The next step - and so many “SEO”s are already there - is probably focusing on things like lifetime value, building loyalty, and brand-building. I just don’t know what my favorite part is yet.
I love the lazy SEO title, but being a lazy SEO is hard friggin work.
I love IM. Here’s why - I was greeted with this blinking IM window when I came back to my desk:
I haven’t posted in weeks but I think my baby boy deserves a post to himself.
Dominic Michael Dalasta
“Nico”, “Dom”, “Gillypop” (don’t ask)
He’s a happy little guy.
Born: 10/7/07.9 lbs 1 oz
Full head of hair
Vikings fan
Has his own website already, but he’s not allowed on myspace yet - dad will be closely monitoring usage
Likes it when you fake hiccup
Thanks to all family & friends for all the gifts, love, and support. It’s been an incredible life-changing experience.
I’ve also learned a ton of new keywords because of this experience. From collicky to thrush to laction consultant (which I picked up lactationconsultant.com - sweet)
I can’t really add anything to their story they’ve posted here. But I figured I could help Zachery Lemoine at least rank for his own name, and to share their story with the 2 people who come here.
Kevin & Monica’s story is very sad but also moving. They are great friends who were - and will be - amazing parents again some day soon. Zach was with us for 7 months and although it’s no consolation for them, he was the sole reason that Nora and I met two of our best friends in Seattle. So, thank you Zach.
We love you guys & look forward to future adventures with your family.
