Michael Gracie 

Less than a week after Google rolled out Knol, its “Wikipedia killer”, the blogosphere has decided to whip itself into a frenzy. The major cause of the consternation – Google seems to be ranking Knol pages, which are supposed to be filled with content from a never-ending and every-increasing number of “experts”, a bit higher [...]

Cuil, the latest “Google killer”… Google wins, but Cuil is just a few hours old (Techcrunch) Cuil is dark, mysterious, and somewhat innovative, but Google is still better (Mashable) Google is paying attention, with a preemptive strike on Cuil’s size claim (Search Engine Land Despite an early stumble, the search market is too big to [...]

Some good points within on the difference between ads within networks and ads delivered via search.

A “new” browser technology

Or at least that is what Bruce Schneier is suggesting. TrackMeNot is a Firefox plugin that is supposed to do just that, by sending random search queries out to engines while you are doing something besides searching for porn and bomb-making instructions. It sounds to me like it just makes for lengthier data mining periods, [...]

Google just avoided providing the government with person-specific search data, but has to lift the hood on their engine for them nonetheless (whatever the hell that means). Meanwhile, the center of the internet universe (according to some) has been ordered by a Federal Magistrate to turn over some crook’s Gmail account data, including any deleted [...]

I do check site stats – I am usually looking for what other people are looking for – keywords that got them here. I don’t try putting two and two together, to figure out who looked for what, and I don’t adjust postings based on keywords (unless I get a request to remove a name [...]

I found out about a cute trick while browsing Frank Anderson’s Blingo Buzz. Pop your name into a search bar, followed by the word “needs” and see what the results tell you. What do I need? As it turns out: – open lines of communication; – juice; – a bit more flesh; and – some [...]

I ran across Mike’s Marketing Tools while doing some research for a colleague on shady SEO practices. Under it, I found Ten Controversial Search Engine Optimization Techniques, and stopped there. Seven mentions of the word “spam” in a ten point list of SEO trickery. But…

Once again, stock analysts cannot make up their minds about the search advertising model. Month on month, these guys swing recommendations like Babe Ruth swung at fastballs – with reckless abandon and little emphasis on quality. The latest is a flip flop by the folks over at RBC Capital Markets (see Google, Yahoo! Ripped). Now, [...]