Pixel Position . Conversational SEO

Google’s SearchWiki experiment expired. It’s two-day public life was cut short, but then it rose again. This experimental baby’s tombstone should have read:

Google SearchWiki

Nov. 20, 2008 – Nov 22, 2008

Tested. Lived. Died. Resurrected.

But, just as I was finishing this blog post, Google SearchWiki came back to life on the evening of Nov 22 (or morning of the 23 for some)!

Wiki, by definition, is a platform for universal editing. So Google’s SearchWiki is a way for you to edit or “mark up” your personal search results yet enable other Google users to see what you have done, to see what you added, promoted and demoted for specific keyword phrases.

Is this Search by influence?

Today, we don’t know the full reason for its rise and fall and coming back to life so mysteriously.

SearchWiki – Tested

Google started testing SearchWiki on October 30, 2008 – an experiment. Was this social search coming to pass before our eyes? Many users didn’t know and couldn’t see or modify their SERPs. Only those randomly chosen had ability to customize results.

I discovered that one of my Gmail accounts was part of the experiment on Nov. 14, 2008. Why was a specific Gmail account chosen? Who knows!

I spent that Friday night researching Google’s Promote / Demote feature. I played around a lot with it, took screenshots, etc. It felt like being in a sandbox, playing and playing. Screenshot below shows Promote / Demote icons:

The Promote / Demote icons are initially gray. The icons turned green once you “customize” your results, as shown above.

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Reduce unwanted emails in your Inbox! Say “No!” to DSN and SPAM.

I recently received a cry for help from a hosting customer who has recently has a very full Inbox:

My computer downloaded 393 emails this morning since last evening when I signed off.  The good news is that I did not receive any “[SPAM]“, and instead I am now getting “Delivery Status Notification (failure)” X dozens.

Avoiding Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Messages

Delivery Status Notification deals with OUTBOUND emails. So why was this person getting dozens of incoming emails?

Usually, DSN means the recipient’s server bounced the email. DSN messages notify you that a sent email was unsuccessful. Your email bounced. There is a delivery problem which can signal a number of things.

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It was announced on Nov. 7 that Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, a loyal supporter of President-elect Barack Obama during his campaign, is a key member on the Transition Economic Advisory Board (TEAB). Google is on the new US Government’s Advisory Board!

Surprise? No! This fast? Yes!

@JonathanNelson predicted on Nov 5 that Eric Schmidt of Google will be USA’s first ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO):

I, too, have been wondering and discussing Google’s involvement in the new US Govt. under Obama’s leadership. But we don’t have a CTO, right? Not yet…

Should you be concerned?

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WordPress.org launched WordPress Showcase on Nov. 1, 2008. I couldn’t be more excited
to see this message posted to Twitter!

I have been avidly searching (with dire need) for a new theme (and approach) for Pixel Position’s blog, so the timing was perfect. Showcases are inspirational and give one an opportunity to expand horizons and outside-the-box ideas. A WordPress Showcase? Perfect!

Timing. Desire. Need. I’m ripe for conversion.

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Scary SEO, a mini-conference recently held in south Florida, has a super tagline:

Two Days of Search Training that will make you so good it will be Scary

It worked! I spent two days in training, almost living and breathing search. I gained knowledge that will help elevate my clients’ rankings, and I am no longer scared! Why?

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