Boing Boing: What's right with Search Engine Optimization

Posted by on under newport beach california, derek powazek, google base, straw men, wrg, page titles, google, danny sullivan, evildoers, local office, search engines, original article, web developer, spammers, homes for sale, audience, search engine, selling real estate, bl |

Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan has published an open response to Derek Powazek's Spammers, Evildoers, and Opportunists defending the practice of search engine optimization, arguing that there's plenty of esoteric, useful, non-sleazy information that web-site-owners need to know to get their stuff recognized correctly by Google. I think there's something to this, but I don't find most of Danny's examples very compelling. In Derek's original article, he mentions most of the sort of thing Danny cites here (distinctive page titles, for example). The Google Base bit is indeed esoteric and the kind of thing a pro can help you with, but I'd be more convinced if his article had more of this sort of thing and fewer straw-men. But to really be real, let's remember that she's selling real estate in one of the most competitive areas of the country, Newport Beach, California. Her friends aren't all going to buy homes she's listing. Her "community" congregates on Google and does things like type in "newport beach homes for sale." To succeed in attracting that audience, she should have a great site and great content -- agreed. But does she have individual listings? Then she probably needs to kick them out into Google Base, in order to fully be listed in Google. Does your mythical web developer deal with Google Base much? And where's her web site now? Is she running it off Blogger? Using her own domain? These have impacts on how both the search engines may see her as well as how she's perceived. Does she have a blog in addition to a main site? That has an impact. Has she considered some unusual, creative ways to create content around real estate in her area, perhaps some catchy link bait, which may pull in the links she needs to rank better (which, by the way, is a recommended Google practice). Does she have a local office? If so, has she claimed her listing in Google Local? If so, has she updated her title to reflect that perhaps she has "newport beach homes for sale?" An Open Letter To Derek Powazek On The Value Of SEO (Thanks, Danny!) Previously:What's wrong with Search Engine Optimization - Boing Boing...


Tagi: newport beach california, derek powazek, google base, straw men, wrg, page titles, google, danny sullivan, evildoers, local office, search engines, original article, web developer, spammers, homes for sale, audience, search engine, selling real estate, bl

Boing Boing: Accused ATM-skimmer swallows USB drive in custody, doctors remove from his gut

Posted by on under search warrant affidavit, atm skimmers, atm skimming, mike sager, secret service agents, atm card, stomach acid, nyc man, e mail, somee, smoking gun, gi tract, flash drive, queens new york, borger, tsg, feds, court documents, swallows, investigators |

Smoking Gun reports that a NYC man accused of participating in an ATM-skimming ring was raided by feds, and in an unusual attempt to destroy evidence, grabbed a flash drive and swallowed it whole while in the custody of Secret Service agents: [I]n the view of investigators, [Florin] Necula "grabbed Subject Flash Drive 2, which had been on his person at the time of his arrest, and swallowed," Agent Joseph Borger noted in the below February 25 search warrant affidavit. When Necula was unable to pass the item after about four days, doctors--concerned that the drive was not compatible with the suspect's GI tract--concluded he "would be injured if they allowed the flash drive to remain inside of him," reported Borger. Necula eventually agreed to allow doctors at New York Downtown Hospital to remove the item, according to a source familiar with the incident. A Kingston executive said it was unclear if stomach acid could damage a flash drive. "As you might imagine, we have no actual experience with someone swallowing a USB," Mike Sager wrote in an e-mail to TSG. Mr. Necula is currently being held without bail at a jail in Queens, New York. Here are the court documents. Previously:ATM skimmer -- could you spot it in the wild? ATM card skimmer in real life ATM skimmers: man, these things are scary HOWTO build an RFID skimmer...


Tagi: search warrant affidavit, atm skimmers, atm skimming, mike sager, secret service agents, atm card, stomach acid, nyc man, e mail, somee, smoking gun, gi tract, flash drive, queens new york, borger, tsg, feds, court documents, swallows, investigators

Boing Boing: Hardware, software and services I use

Posted by on under self indulgence, locus, rk, wh, privilege, hardware software, apps, lt, bas, alg |

My latest Locus column, "What I Do," is a pretty thorough inventory of the apps, OSes, hardware and services I use on a day to day basis: From time to time, people ask me for an inventory of the tools and systems I use to get my work done. As a hard-traveling, working writer, I spend a lot of time tinkering with my tools and systems. At the risk of descending into self-indulgence (every columnist's occasional privilege), I'm going to try to create a brief inventory, along with a wish/to-do list for the next round. What I Do...


Tagi: self indulgence, locus, rk, wh, privilege, hardware software, apps, lt, bas, alg