Google fans are excited about the new Droid smartphone for Google's Android mobile operating system. Google skeptics, meanwhile, are finding solace in the fact that the company's buddy-buddy relationship with the White House administration is getting some mainstream exposure.

The search engine and Internet service company has announced a new product for retailers. Google Commerce Search is a storefront that e-commerce business owners can put on their site to make searching for products easier. On first glance it looks like a pretty cool tool to offer visitors, but it sure does cost a pretty penny! Minimum fifty-thousand a year!

Digital marketing conference ad:tech is in New York this week. You can find assorted coverage across the Web, including Microsoft's reporting of the State of the Industry panel and Bruce's slide deck for his presentation on SEO best practices (pdf) as part of SMX@ad:tech.

10e20 compiled a list of November's hot topics in social media. Knowing the popular topics of the day is a great place to start when aiming to create popular and sharable content. And who doesn't love holidays, movies and the latest tech toys?

For a nostalgic stroll down the memory lane of toys, check out the most popular Christmas toys, going all the way back to the holiday season of 1960. In '69, were you all about the Hot Wheels, or does your best Christmas memory lie with the Care Bear craze of '84? [I totally remember getting a Cabbage Patch when I was little. --Susan]

Or wait, is social media actually the hot toy this holiday season? A report from Reuters suggests that consumers aren't the only ones excited for what the holidays may bring. Retailers and brands across the country are relying on social media to be a strong team player over the next few months.

We're also deep into American football season, so I'd be remiss not to include a football-themed post on the 10 fundamentals of local SEO. Thanks for the pep talk, David Mihm!

Social media super stars like Twitter and other status update services have seen a jump in users, says the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Younger Internet users, those connecting with mobile devices, and social network participants make up the three main groups driving the growth.

Over at Facebook, I'm willing to bet there's been a good amount of head scratching and brainstorming going on following one spammer's creepy confession. Dennis Yu walked TechCrunch readers through his process of gaming the Facebook ad system and flooding it with scammy, misleading, and highly profitable content.

Yu's dealings make up but a small part of the aptly dubbed fakeosphere. The FTC is cracking down on ads (or more accurately, scams) parading as blog posts and user-generated testimonials. I know Halloween is over, but consumers beware.

That level of skeezy can only be followed by a unicorn chaser. Of course, I'm the one writing here, so you're getting a baby turtle chaser! These kids are going to be such lady killers when they grow up. *Squeal!* Time to take a trip to Sea World!

Babies have definitely been cause for celebration in the search realm of late. Loren Baker, president of Search Engine Journal, found out he and his wife, Janna, have a boy on the way. Google co-creator Larry Page and his wife, Lucy, welcomed a boy into the world yesterday. WordPress developer extraordinaire Joost De Valk cuddled up with his new baby girl for the first time this morning. [And tomorrow, I'm hosting my sister-in-law's baby shower! Huzzah! --Susan]

Internet marketing newsletter and Web resource Web Marketing Today ushers in its 15th year on November 9. If you aren't subscribed to Dr. Ralph Wilson's power-packed newsletter complete with actionable articles and expert-laden video interviews, really, what are you waiting for? Congrats to all!

A thread on webmaster forum WebmasterWorld suggests that Microsoft's search engine Bing is honoring 301 redirects after gaining a notorious reputation for not doing so. Wonder if it has anything to do with MSNBot 1.1 being put out to pasture. MSNBot 1.1 may not have been "old" but it sure seemed a little bit senile.

A new forum has been launched by SEO Phill Midwinter, and he's come out the gate with a bang and unique insights into optimization strategy for semantic search. As Phill explains, Google uses semantic data (technology that identifies the meaning of words based on their relationship with one another) which we can see through Wonder Wheel, the AdWords Keyword Tool and related searches in SERPs.

In a two part series, Phill breaks down his technical tactics for semantic search engine optimization. He's explained the concept to me before, but getting a formalized version complete with diagrams did wonders to help deepen my understanding. The step-by-step process Phill outlines is primed for adoption and adaptation.

Next week Internet marketers will be converging on Vegas to attend the search, social media and affiliate marketing conference PubCon. I know super-bloggers will be reporting all the action live (or close to it) on Search Engine Roundtable and Outspoken Media. And if you know of other media outlets providing coverage, feel free to drop a link in the comments.

Not too busy gearing up for PubCon to chime in on a convo I started yesterday, Outspoken Media's Lisa Barone challenged my admonition against the controversial, saying that strongly worded blog posts force readers to face assumptions, potentially leaving us wiser and more open-minded in the process.

Also challenging assumptions, keyword management platform WordStream offers up five SEO myths and proceeds to bust 'em wide open with dynamite and rubber mannequins. ...Or am I thinking of Mythbusters? Take a look at these common assumptions of the SEO's handbook and consider what you believe and why.

Things I learned from Boing Boing this week:

• Mind control through sound and light? La la la... I'm not listening!
• It's possible to make beautiful music resemble like an alien encounter.
• AT&T is suing Verizon for comparing apples to apples.
• How does China prepare to host next year's World Expo? By banning pajamas in public, of course.

Let's take blogging, for example. When I took over the position of BCI blogger, I couldn't get my feet wet fast enough. The bar so high and the shoes I was slated to fill were so big. I wanted to prepare myself with as much knowledge as possible. Copyblogger, ProBlogger and Lisa's volumes of writing made up my blogger workbook, and I tried to soak it all in.

After I started writing for the blog, I learned a lot from the process of doing. And my brain overloaded frequently as I listened to the Internet marketing advice shared in interviews on SEM Synergy and attended SEO training and industry conferences. Basically, no sense was off the hook when it came to getting me up to SEO snuff.

One of the techniques I hoped to master quickly was the art of attaining blog comments. How does one earn the engagement of blog readers via comments? Luckily there are many good resources on the subject, but there was one recurring recommendation that didn't sit right with me: be controversial.

Take a strong stand. Share an unpopular opinion. Challenge the status quo. Whenever a writer takes a controversial stand, it's always accompanied by a raging waterfall of comments. The technique works, no doubt.

But at what expense?

Avoiding Extremism

As a defender of language's honor, I do my best to adhere to the rules of the English language and to respect the rich history of our language. I try to stay away from the realm of the nagger and focus on using my words carefully and deliberately to communicate my inner thoughts with respect and sensitivity.

I've witnessed the ways that language can hurt people, even stirring up arguments where no conflict exists. When I began to pay attention to debates between two opposing viewpoints, you know what I often realized? There was a false dichotomy built up around two points of view that weren't mutually exclusive. Far too frequently we like to talk about "one or the other" when in truth it's really more like "a little of this and a little of that."

You have to be involved in social media marketing!

You're both wrong! PPC is the real money maker!

Imagine this same conversation string without the "no" and the "you're wrong", because really, all of the above offer something uniquely valuable to the marketing mix, complementing one another and strengthening the overall reach and resonance of the message.

Life's not black and white. And neither are marketing or blogging.

On the Flip Side...

Now, before you think I'm not listening to my own advice (yes, I realize that an admonition against polarizing language is a black-and-white statement in itself) there's another side to the coin worth discussing here.

The upside of polarization is that it may actually add to the development of a discussion. And that's in the way strongly worded statements force us to reevaluate our own beliefs.

In defense of the devil's advocate, Dave Fleet explains that by considering an opinion that doesn't match your instinct, you're pushing yourself to better understand why you believe what you do. By considering and sharing a contrarian point of view, you can:

1. Decide if you really believe what you think you believe.
2. Consider an alternative that might shape your thinking.
3. Invite others to decide what they believe.

Open yourself up to the possibility that someone else is right, and realize that that doesn't necessarily mean you're wrong. And considering the fast pace of change in online marketing, understand that great advice today could be harmfully misleading next week. Steering clear of extremism is usually a good way to avoid strategies that backfire when the rules change.

Which brings us back full circle! Take care when sharing strong opinions -- I don't mean you should censor yourself, but think through the potential consequences. And be willing to embark on a journey of self discovery when you do share your opinions as well as when you come across the opinions of others. All anyone has is their experience to guide them, after all. And no one knows all the answers.

The rising importance of online video is the topic of the day on today's episode of SEM Synergy.

CNN -- a media outlet that before a few years ago was best known for its 24-hour television news coverage -- launched a newly redesigned site last week. Central to the new design is the prominence of video.

On the home page, the editor's choice of must-watch videos runs across the screen. Head to any category landing page -- Politics, Entertainment, Tech, and so on -- and you'll see a number of videos featured above the fold.

CNN isn't the only site looking to capitalize on the presence of video in online properties. A study by social media analytics provider Sysomos uncovers the wide-spread adoption of video embedding by bloggers and overall video viewing trends.

Examining video embeds and links to videos on blogs, Sysomos looked at 100 million blog posts published from July to September of 2009 along with twelve major video platforms. Findings showed that men and women across the world are including links to videos on their blogs. As a friend said to me the other day, "Videos are the new pictures."

I'm already late to the party. Typical.

Now, if I'm not alone, let's back up a second and listen to Bruce's perspective on why video is an increasingly important element of any site, shared during an interview with ReelSEO, a video marketing and SEO company, earlier this year. Check that out and come right back, okay?

Videos are engagement objects™, or elements and applications that cause the user to actively participate on a Web site. Google's Universal Search highlights the need for videos, images and other engaging content as such features are featured prominently in page-one search results.

My guest Topher Kohan, SEO coordinator at CNN, talked to me during the podcast about CNN's Web 2.0 strategy, what the process of redesigning the site was like, and how he managed to keep SEO in the loop from the very beginning.

One point that really stuck out to me during our convo but didn't get a lot of time during the podcast was CNN's approach to the Web, not as an alternate channel, but as a critical appendage of the holistic-minded media organization.

While some news organizations push Web visitors to the television, CNN sees Web users as an influential audience, deserving of at least the same amount of time and effort as is given to catering to TV viewers.

As a television news org, CNN has a lot of video in its archives. If users can find, view, and share video online, and all those interactions can be tracked and measured with unprecedented accuracy, isn't online video an investment worth at least investigating?

Retailers are facing the same situation. Once upon a time Web site visitors could be directed to call or visit a brick-and-mortar location. The Web was a tool for funneling people down a non-Web-based conversion cycle.

But business models have necessarily evolved as confident shoppers aren't going to put in the time and effort it takes to bounce from your site to the store when an online alternative is available.

The Web is no second-class citizen, and video holds a high place in the court of the king. Get the picture?

My relationship with the list is one of love-hate, to say the least.

Just as lists can keep us organized and to the task at hand, lists can also keep us captive to their rigid boundaries and lack of mercy. Even more disturbing, lists can actually hurt others.

The other day Christopher Hart shared his concerns with me. He'd seen a large number of Twitter Lists suddenly crop up as the microblogging site rolled out the feature to a greater number of users. The lists he'd seen so far had ranged from playful to helpful and were clearly being used as an organizational tool.

But oh, what if?! It wasn't long before Chris got to thinking of all the ways Twitter Lists could be abused. After all, history has proved it's only a matter of time before shady abuses are dreamed up for all new technologies.

And that's when it hit him: With lists come great responsibilities.

As Chris mentioned to me, think of the lists throughout history that have caused pain and suffering to those included. Just a small sampling:

• McCarthy's list
• The Hollywood blacklist
• Nixon's enemies list
• And who could forget those cruel worst dressed lists?

Ouch!

Okay, as much as I'd like to joke about the situation and just laugh it off, Chris's concern is a real one.

I'm a bit late to the debate as many bloggers, including Chris Brogan and Robert Scoble, have shared their initial thoughts. (For a great round-up of articles and posts on Lists as well as an intriguing argument about how Twitter Lists is proof that social media misunderstands itself, I recommend Justin Kownacki's post on the subject.) But I haven't seen much attention given to the reputation management aspect of Twitter Lists.

It's only a matter of time until companies like Ripoff Report start creating their lists. And it's likely that those are lists you and your company don't want to be on. [It's a little like Facebook groups but instead of people joining groups they agree with, you're just labeled whether you want to be or not. --Susan] *Shudders* --Virginia

We can hope that Twitter will be quick to put protections into place. But as we know, spammers and scammers and those with a bone to pick are a rather determined bunch.

Then again, maybe there's someone who stands to benefit from list abuse. Anyone think I should take bets on how many less-than-favorable lists everyone's favorite cable provider gets itself on by month's end?

Today I got my Google Wave invite and floundered around there for a bit. Last week I played around with Google's new Social Search experiment. With all the new uses, integrations and features search engines are adding to their results, it's enough to make a blogger dizzy.

Is anyone else left asking, "What's next?"

Along with the changes to search, the online evolution has brought about a change in user behavior. Turns out that after a rough year of economic uncertainty, Internet users are keeping their eyes wide open to identify scams as well as sales pitches.

Spending any time on the Internet's watering holes, social networks, reveals that seemingly innocuous games and messages from trusted friends can elevate your participation to victim status with the click of a link. [This is why you should trust no one. --Susan]

Some users may have extended their caution of online content to the realm of the marketer as well. At last week's Digital Publishing & Advertising Conference (DPAC4) attendees learned that consumers have new-found pride in their ability to bypass marketing messages. As if it weren't hard enough for a business online, now the audience is actively trying to tune out the message.

Despite the great abuse potential of social media content to harm brands or defame individuals, on the search side, we see the engines eager to integrate social media into main results.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has made it clear that he thinks social media and real-time content plays heavily in the future for search. Determining how to rank real-time social media content is, according to Schmidt, "the great challenge of the age."

Faced with an mistrustful audience and a new search opportunity, social media is a crucial frontier for any online business to be on. Thought it's worth considering just where the value of real-time participation lies.

For all the weight put on real-time content within search engines and all the time spent on online social networks, for all the new features being added to search and the lack of trust Internet users have for overt marketing...

As recently as last week, I said SMM wasn't a requirement of SEO. After connecting the dots with some new information I'm actually reconsidering whether social media marketing has in fact become a vital requirement of search engine optimization. I mean, really... what's next?

Bruce Clay, Inc. Halloween 2009

Bruce has been out of the country for the last week -- out in Milan for SEO ToolSetTraining. We thought we'd give him a proper welcome back to the office. What do you think of our thoughtful decorations?

Turns out I blended right in with a look I like to call mummy turned TP monster.

All that's to say our cauldron was overflowing with fun! Everybody looked amazing and got into the spirit. You can check out all the costumes as well as some of our luncheon fun on our Halloween 2009 Flickr album.

It's time for me to go unravel some trouble like only the undead can do. So until we meet again...

Happy Friday, happy weekend and happy Halloween!

Mwahahaha!!

;)

I know you're used to getting your recap on Fridays, but tomorrow's our Halloween party! That translates to the entire BCI crew in spirited costumes having wicked good fun. What can I say? We love to dress up!

So there's a good chance tomorrow will be a pretty hectic day, and since I plan to be among the undead, I can't really count on much brain capacity. I figured why not serve up some recap while I've got the necessary presence of mind?

The Internet commemorates its 40th birthday today. Kind of. There are lots of milestones that could be counted as the "birth" of the Internet but the one that happened forty years ago today is the connection of to nodes of ARPANET. It's like a big deal or something. Yay, Internet! [Officially Over the Hill. --Susan]

Turns out spending a couple hours a day online may actually be good for your mental health. A study suggests that the onset of dementia may be prevented or slowed by the brain stimulation caused by surfing the Web. If that's the case, in sixty years there will be a whole bunch of sharp, old SEOs out there still doing their thing!

Or course, every tool that can be used for good can be just as easily used for trickery. This week a slew of celebrity robberies were blamed in part on the Internet.

A group of teens (who went to school in my home town, actually -- go Chargers!) are suspected of burglarizing a slew of homes belonging to young Hollywood stars. Police say the thieves used celebrity Web sites to track the celebrities' whereabouts, providing the burglars easy access to empty homes and all the cool stuff therein. Spooooky! [Dear horrible people on the Internet. I never leave home and I have a shotgun. Love and kisses, Susan]

One of the suspects blamed her criminal activity on bad friends. Now that Google's testing out the social space, it may be a little easier to stay connected with friends -- hopefully just the good ones. Social Search launched in Google Labs this week and a bald-headed Matt Cutts has the honor of the intros.

News around Yahoo! was slightly less celebratory as Geocities said its goodbyes, taking a slew of personal, free Web sites with it. Bing, meanwhile, got into the holiday spirit with Halloween-themed ads. Together, the pair postponed their self-imposed search deal deadline citing the "complex nature of the transaction".

Members of the search industry obviously keep up with the big three engines, but have you ever considered your alternatives? Over at Search Engine Watch Carrie Hill rounds up and categorizes AdWords alternatives, including PPC, cost-per-impression and cost-per-lead ad programs.

Directories have been touted as a potential source for inbound links. But one of the oldest and most authoritative directories, DMOZ, is notoriously difficult to get into. Seeking to uncover this thorn in the SEO industry's side, Debra Mastaler talked to the Open Directory Project's editor in chief in a revealing interview posted on Search Engine Land.

Finally, as October rolls to a close, so does National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But the need for care and giving carries on. The search and social media marketers are supporting the cause through TwakeUp, a social media campaign in which all money raised will be given to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. You can make donations to this campaign through November.

Things I learned from Boing Boing this week:

• One pro photographer has shared his tips for taking incredible pics with nothing more than a li'l ol' iPhone 3GS.
• The White House went open source this week.
• Bees may have developed a taste for human tears. [AUGH! --Susan]
• Disney's Haunted Mansion has real-world roots!

• Where's the search industry today?
• Is there even "traditional" media anymore? What kinds of needs do you see larger brands having?
• Is Twitter a flash in the plan? Any thoughts on social media's place going forward?
• With more narrow and precise targeting options, we're starting to see some backlash. A study from UC Berkley found that more than 60 percent of participants felt that targeted ads weren't okay. Are we going to be able to take advantage of these sophisticated technologies?
• The emergence of Bing and Bing's partnership with Yahoo are among the biggest changes in search. How's having two players rather than three going to change our space?
• If we came back in five years, what would we be talking about?

After attending and liveblogging the panel, What's Next in Search: the Bigwig Crystal Ball Panel, I got to thinking about the evolution of search, how it became what it is today, and, in the ever-fluctuating space, where it might be in five years.

So I thought I'd ask a couple of the most tuned-in experts I know these very same questions. Today on SEM Synergy, Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza answer the series of questions that were asked of the Bigwig panel. And their answers really opened my eyes to a picture of what search can and may become in the not-so-distant future.

These are concepts that directly affect many of our livelihoods, and I'm sure you've all considered these issues at one point or another. So in the name of growth and revelation, I thought I'd ask you to add your thoughts to the conversation as well.

I thought of creating a poll, but with such open ended questions it would be impossible to contain all possible responses in a series of multiple choice answers. I thought of creating a survey, but burdening people with a survey is not what I'm looking to do. Instead, I thought an open conversation would be best served through comments on this post.

If any of these questions ignite your passion or get you thinking, please share your thoughts in the comments. You can check out the liveblog coverage for the panelists' answers and today's episode of SEM Synergy for Bruce's response. I can't wait to find out your predictions and to start piecing together a forecast for the future of online search and SEO.

Update:

Staring at the open-ended questions above, I realized it might be easier to get feedback on the individual responses that have been offered up already. So I've rounded up the answers from the original panelists along with Bruce and Susan (all paraphrased, mind you). Read them over and vote for all the answers you agree with it. Or, fill in the blank if your answer isn't represented.

Here are the panelists:

Greg Boser, President and CEO, 3 Dog Media
Andrew Goodman, Founder and Principal, Page Zero Media
Sara Holoubek, Consultant, Columnist and SEMPO Board of Directors,
Jack Menzel, Group Product Manager, Google
Kristine Segrist, Search Managing Director of MEC Interaction, GroupM Search
Julie Sun, Director, Digital Marketing, MTV

There's a birthday in our midst! Digital advertising counts its 15th birthday today! And my, what a long way its come.

Fifteen years ago today, the first banner ads hit the Web. Granted they were tacky, awkward banner ads, often missing basic elements, like, I dunno, calls to action... but eureka, advertising had discovered the Internet!

Since then, digital advertising has evolved into the measurable, multi-faceted, major force of marketing it is today. And indications show there's still improvement underway.

Premier publishers are scrubbing clean their digital ad inventories of the scummy ads that turn off audiences. From The LA Times article:

But the monkey -- indeed, a whole class of flashy, shaky, maddening advertising collectively known as "punch the monkey" ads -- is going away, or at least slinking off to some forgotten cavern of the Internet where few will ever see it. Like MySpace.

One ad network representative said that publishers and advertising are realizing that "Those kinds of ads can really alienate users, drive traffic away and erode the brand."

Woo hoo! Advertisers have gotten past the point of generating junk to recognize it for what it is!

Doubts about the value of online advertising are a thing of a past. Questions about how the format works have been answered. Next stop, making the content better and the formats more engaging. There are exciting times ahead in the online advertising space.

Everyone has some growing pains to go through, and digital advertising has been no different. But with quality, trust and engagement in mind, the growth can be positive and beneficial for advertisers, publishers and consumers.

Here's an interesting question worth a minute of pondering for any SEO practitioner:

"[I]s it now a necessity for an SEO to have practical social media skills?"

James Duthie posed the head tickler in a post on SEO Scoop last week called "Is social now a compulsory SEO skill?"

The question came out of discussions he's had with other members of the Internet marketing community, and he and his friends aren't the only ones thinking it over and forming their opinions. So since James has opened the discussion up to everyone, I'm gonna go ahead and share my answer to the question.

I say no.

One of the most important qualities of a successful SEO is a drive and ability to keep up with the ever-changing search space. Knowing the guidelines set by the engines, the technologies available, and searchers' changing behaviors requires that the search marketing professional update their understanding on a regular basis.

Accepting that an SEO's knowledge base is constantly growing translates to keeping up with new trends, technologies and opportunities. So when social media marketing came along, it was easily rolled in to the domain of search engine optimization. And maybe, unhelpfully so.

Adding to the confusion, the distinction between search and social media marketing is further blurred by the search engines' mad rush to become the social search destination. (In case you're wondering, Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan spells out what Google Social Search and Bing Twitter Search are in necessary detail.)

But when it comes down to it, despite any overlap, the needs and goals of search engine optimization are different than the needs and goals of social media marketing. One can effectively perform both SMM and SEO, and most of us do both daily, though there's a difference in how each is approached. So here's a breakdown of how they differ and distinct the needs of each.

Unique Audiences

If you look at the intended audience of SEO and SMM efforts, you'll find a pretty clear difference. As James points out, "One aims to satisfy robots (SEO). The other aims to satisfy humans (social)."

Step one of content development and design: know your audience. If your primary audience is Googlebot, get to know Googlebot and his likes and dislikes inside and out. Have an audience of middle school teachers in the American Midwest? Know their needs, the issues on their plates, and what pushes their buttons.

Similar rules for very different audiences. Keeping search and social separate helps professionals focus their efforts on the right audience.

Unique Environments

Of course, all audiences have their unique preferences, and when it comes to search marketing and social marketing, some of these preferences are clearly spelled out in the form of terms of service. A marketer must remain familiar with the terms of service for the stated marketing platform, be aware of any updates or changes to policy, and learn how to achieve success with their goals while staying true to the rules set by the platform. Additionally, a marketer must be aware of the risks involved in marketing through those platforms.

Unique Goals

The goal of social media marketing is to communicate with a community of humans. Indirectly, the goal of SEO is the same. But with SEO the attention is focused at the search engines with the assumption that humans will be reached through the engines. So while the eventual goal is the same, the initial one is not and, as marketers know, that makes a difference when it comes to strategy and tactics.

Unique Tactics

Social media marketing dictates a familiar tone, a multi-directional conversation, quick response times, and a constant stream of content. The approach for social media marketing is to build community through genuine conversation.

Search engine marketing requires a character of authority, in-depth technical knowledge of how the Web works and renders, and heavy analytical monitoring. The approach for search engine marketing is to gain high search engine rankings through perceived Web site relevance and code crawlability.

The Intersection

Of course, there are a number of commonalities and complementary aspects of search engine marketing and social media marketing. Social media can be used as a tool to achieve a goal of search engine optimization, and vice versa. Regardless of who is in charge, the two must go hand in hand. This is true of all marketing mediums -- from traditional print ads or radio spots, to the latest opportunities for video overlays and social media contests.

Cooperation and communication are key to a holistic marketing strategy, but with differentiated and critical tasks occurring in both the search and social spaces, I say search marketing and social marketing are both worth representation, resources and responsibilities all their own.

The week's big news was that social search entered the mainstream. Bing, and subsequently Google, announced social search integration into their respective search engines. Bing partnered with Twitter and Facebook to serve status updates and tweets in search results, and the social search service is now up and running. Quick aside: Bing's parent Microsoft also released the Windows 7 operating system this week.

Meanwhile Google, in a move that smacks of thunder theft, has said that its social search will launch in Labs in a few weeks. (Not content to just slap Microsoft, Google co-founder Sergey Brin managed to smack Yahoo! this week as well.)

For more on the social search features and how they may affect SEO, check out Marc Elison's exploration of the subject on the Bruce Clay Australasia blog. [Hallo down under! --Paula]

Ice cream = Happiness

The social networks themselves also celebrated accomplishments this week as Twitter reached its five-billionth tweet and Facebook data was used to create a Gross National Happiness Index based on the sentiment expressed in users' status updates.

In other social news, Facebook elaborated on its leaked and as-of-yet-unreleased home page design, and Twitter use is being blacklisted by some segments of Hollywood.

Now, living in L.A. you see lots of weird things. But have you ever seen a group of people break into song in the middle of a grocery story? Improve Everywhere, the infamous group of improv artists that spreads smiles in the New York City area, pulled off this very feat, with all the gape-mouthed glory you'd expect if life turned musical before your eyes.

Rumors that Google is entering the music game were all but confirmed by leaked screenshots of a new service where Google allows users to stream music through the search engine and purchase songs through iTunes and Amazon.

However, the search engine did announce new features for Google Analytics and an API for Website Optimizer. The company's newly approved patent for "trustrank" also piqued interest in the search community.

Communities are really the lifeblood of the online world, and posted comments are like a vital sign. Outspoken Media has posted seven illnesses of a comment-less blog, and more importantly, their cures. If you should be taking advice on building blog engagement from anyone, it's clearly The Lisa. I know I do.

Study of e-mail user demographics by RapLeaf

The findings of a RapLeaf study of 120,000 e-mail users will be revealed in a multi-part series on the consumer data company's blog. The first part, available now, breaks down the users of AOL, Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo! e-mails by age and gender. The study shows that there are more male than female users of Hotmail, more female than male users of Gmail, and email users age 46 and up prefer AOL.

E-mailing and text messaging, according to a study by The Participatory Marketing Network and the Lubin School of Business' Interactive and Direct Marketing Lab at Pace University, are the last activities that Gen Y would be willing to part with. Gen Y, those babes of the Baby Boomers, would give up the phone, TV, social networks and basically the whole rest of the Web before letting anyone pry e-mails and texts out of their hipster hands.

SEO vlogger Neal Rodriguez published his interviews with Bruce and me from SMX East earlier this month. Bruce talks about the coming new-and-improved SEOToolSet suite of diagnostic tools for Internet marketers. Neal and I talk about BCI's liveblog coverage and my favorite learning moments at SMX East 2009. And just in case it's not clear, the name's Nussey, Virginia Nussey. (Cue secret agent theme music.)

Things I learned from Boing Boing this week:

• The Blue Brain computer is a project aimed at reverse engineering the human brain.
• Chili peppers can keep you warm if you tuck them in your sock or glove.
• In David vs. Goliath match-ups, eagles hunt reindeer.
• Nokia is suing Apple for stealing its iPhone technology.
• Mona Lisa's mysterious smile? It's all in your mind...

Want to join Twitter but first need to get up to speed on the current functions and insider language? This quick list of the most popular and useful features will get you from beginner to pro in no time.

1. Isolating a tweet

From your Twitter home page or a user's Twitter stream, clicking on the time a tweet was posted (e.g., "1 minute ago" or "2 days ago") isolates the single message on its own permanent URL.

2. Replies and mentions

A tweet that begins "@TwitterName" is called a reply. It is only shown in the stream of people who follow both the sender and the addressee.

A mention is a tweet that includes a "@TwitterName" anywhere within the body of the tweet. Both replies and mentions of a user's Twitter name can be displayed by selecting "@TwitterName" from the right-hand navigation of the Twitter home page.

3. Direct messages

Direct messages are private messages from one user to another. You may only direct message (DM) someone if they are following you. There are several ways to do this. You can locate their name in the DM drop down menu, go to their profile and choose "message" from there, or use the format "d TwitterName message here".

4. Retweets

A retweet is a repeated tweet, usually published by someone other than the author of the original tweet. It is most commonly seen in the form "RT @TwitterName [Message]" while some users prefer to use "via @name" or to place the attribution at the end of the tweet. However, the retweet feature is being redesigned by Twitter, so this may change in the near future.

Optimize your tweets for retweets by making them short enough to include "RT @TwitterName:". In the current system of retweets, it's not uncommon to change the text minimally by omitting or abbreviating words. Retweets raise the visibility of a user's Twitter profile and make it more likely to be trusted in the future by other Twitter users.

5. Shortening links

As tweets are officially restricted to 140 characters, URL shorteners come in handy when including links in tweets. There are many URL shortening services available, and each performs its task differently. Certain URL shorteners have been found to be more retweeted than others.

6. Hashtags

The pound sign is used before any word or concatenated phrase. Hashtags can be used to identify your message with a defined topic or to include a tweet among those of an identified theme. Alternately hashtags are used for humorous effect, sarcastically or jokingly. [Like this post could be hashtagged #tip #helpful and I am always #genius. --Susan]

7. Lists

Twitter Lists allow users to categorize the users they follow and to easily follow groups of like-minded users. Find out what lists you've been included on by clicking the link "listed" that appears next to the link to "followers" in the right-hand navigation of the home page.

8. Trending Topics

Trending Topics, listed in the right-hand navigation of the Twitter home page, are the most talked about subject on twitter. News events and memes often end up as trending topics.

9. Revealing internal monologue, private actions or things overheard

Use square brackets [ ], angles < >, parentheses ( ), or asterisks * * to denote that the action or insights within are part of your internal monologue or private actions. Examples include "Just failed my test (head desk)" or "Look at these delicious cupcakes. *want*".

10. Searching Twitter

Search Twitter by using the search box with a magnifying glass on the right-hand navigation of the home page or through the URL http://search.twitter.com. Resulting tweets are from unprotected (public) users, while tweets from Twitter users with private accounts will not show up in search results.

Search engine Bing has also launched Bing Twitter Search and Google plans to release a Twitter search feature as well.

Guest Gregg Poulin, general manager of online research company Compete.com, offers up some fascinating early indicators of the e-commerce holiday season, what Compete.com data reveals about searcher behavior when it comes to paid and organic results, and ways marketers can act on behavioral audience data.

For these revealing and actionable insights, check out this week's episode of SEM Synergy. Because right now I'm not going to expand on any of this heady info. Instead I'm going to elaborate on the final segment, i.e. the way-too-fun, you-have-to-do-this-yourself-too discussion we had to close out the show.

David Harry, a renaissance man of the SEO world, does just about everything you can think of when it comes to the search industry. He publishes a research-heavy SEM blog at Huomah.com, he compiles the weekly SEO Geeks Newsletter, he contributes to other industry media including SEM Synergy and, recently, Search Engine Journal, and just this week he opened the doors to a new search industry learning community and hang-out, the SEO Dojo.

In between all that he managed to assemble a rough-and-tumble crew of SEO superheroes, the League of Awesome Optimizers.

David carefully crafted my alter ego, the Siren, and I was so excited and inspired to be counted among this honorable team, that I wanted to spread the joy throughout the SEO community. We all have skills and talents that make us good at what we do. Why not translate that to superhero form?

So Dærick, Michael, Susan and I chatted about the super powers we'd most want if we could be the Superman of the SEO world. The convo was so entertaining I wanted to bring it to the next level. I used the HeroMachine to bring these vivid superheroes to life, and it was so fun and illuminating that I suggest all SEOs join the League. Go ahead, bring that super-alter-ego of yours to life!

Rev up the HeroMachine, create a superhero that reflects you and your talents, write up a description or story, and post the image and story to your blog, Facebook, Flickr, anywhere, then post a link to it in the comments on David's original post, and here too, if you'd like. There's an SEO superhero party happening and everyone's invited!

In the meantime, without further ado, please welcome the newest members of the League of Awesome Optimizers: The Headliner, Doctor Influence and Algo Buster.

Dærick Gröss, aka Doctor Influence

Only using his powers of persuasion for good, Doctor Influence uses his mental muscle to turn the heat up on clients afraid to act and improving their search presence.

A mesmerizing gaze, sharp tongue and massive grey matter are the good doctor's tools for convincing clients that he's looking out for them and acting in their best interest. His fist of fire and fury brings home the point that when you listen to the doctor's orders, you'll soon be seeing green.

But when all is said and done, one has only to look at Doc's fiery red hair to know not to mess with this charmed medicine man.

Michael Terry, aka Algo Buster

Part man, part machine, Algo Buster uses his ability to communicate with his robot cousins to dominate organic search rankings.

Working with code late one night, his eyes caught the glow of the full moon reflecting on the computer screen. The radiant light is the last thing he remembers before undergoing a mysterious transformation that made him a human-computer hybrid. As a fluent speaker of the language of search engine spiders, no keyword is too saturated and no industry too competitive for Algo Buster.

Watch out SERPs. His boots were made for stomping -- the competition!

Susan Esparza, aka The Headliner

A master of short prose, The Headliner deftly wrangles content into seductive titles and headlines that catch reader attention and drive traffic.

With her sparkling wit, The Headliner whips content into shape or carves it into quick and digestible one-liners perfect for headlines. On her hip rests a red editing pen and sticky notes to leave behind language lessons for those in need. While the pen is mightier than the sword, she prefers to have both handy for cutting down content to its click-worthy core.

And if you don't like her changes, she can always edit your face.

And so it goes that on a single panel during a major Internet marketing conference, two speakers regarded for their expertise and experience can disagree on such a fundamental level.

During the presentation Social Media: White Hat vs. Black Hat at Search Engine Strategies New York this past August, Search & Social's Dave Snyder and MarketingProfs's Beth Harte sat feet away from each other at a table at the front of a room. And yet a chasm filled the space between their differing opinions.

With more and more companies becoming aware of the concepts of social media marketing and how SMM can contribute to business goals, more and more Internet marketing firms are making SMM training, services and consulting available.

Which raised the debate that has since divided the Internet marketing community: To outsource SMM or not to outsource SMM, that is the question.

As reported earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal, the demand for social media consulting services is there. And while services come in many different shapes and sizes, there's an across-the-board question that has to be answered before a company commits to a consultant. To what degree will SMM outsourcing work for my business?

One argument goes that since social media is where people communicate, everyone involved is best served if they are sincere and speak for themselves. Panelist Beth Harte also described this effect, which I reported in my liveblog coverage of the event:

Beth has an issue with ghost blogging and ghost tweeting. They don't know enough about your company. Some products and services are very complex, and an agency will never know enough about the product to produce content that's compelling to the community. And if you approach it as just putting in the buzzwords, the community will sense the BS.

But, as with anything else, this issue isn't black and white, as explained by panelist Dave Snyder (and as summarized by me):

Unlike search where there's a guideline set in front of you, the community guides the social ethics. It's really important to understand how to utilize each platform. Each community has its own guidelines. There's spam, then there's automation, then there's conversation. It's different shades of gray. Look at how the community for each platform reacts to different marketing tactics.

In truth, we're all human and we can all relate to the gripes Internet users face while on their social networks. And we can almost as easily avoid being the source of such annoyance if aware of the trap.

Who better to avoid social media traps than those armed with community experience, a complete understanding of platform terms of service, and standing clout with the audience? There's no one more equipped than a social media marketing professional in these areas.

The disagreement may stem from a misunderstanding between parties that when social media marketing is outsourced, ties between the social media presence and the organization are cut off. But since when did anyone expect that they could set and forget social media marketing?

As with all outsourced services, communication between client and agency needs to be constant and flowing. The client must always be an active participant in their organization's social media presence, suggesting topics of interest, exciting announcements to share, and their sense of the industry's pulse. The agency must be proactive about making sure the message and language fits the audience's expectation, seeking out clarification when uncertain and receiving client approval when appropriate.

There are no rights and wrongs in social media marketing -- it's about what works, what resonates and what builds community. The company president doesn't insist on tackling every task within the organization. She relies on her trusted members of her team to do the job right. Likewise, the client-agency relationship is one of members of the same team. And communication, understanding and cooperation are keys to any successful relationship -- social media or otherwise.

October's Bruce Clay, Inc. SEO Newsletter has hit the Web and inboxes everywhere, but there's always a chance you may have missed it. Then I'd have to grieve because my two good friends, you and the SEO Newsletter, never had a chance to get to know each other. And that ain't happening -- not if I have anything to do with it.

With that, I commence with the introductions! Reader, meet October's SEO Newsletter. Newsletter, meet my beloved reader.

See, that was easy. I bet you two find you have a lot in common, too!

For instance, readers like finding meaty info, unique insights and authoritative recommendations. The newsletter is a big meaty beast of search industry news, insights and recommendations. Now if that's not a match made in heaven...

Okay, okay. If it wasn't love at first sight, how about a quick round of speed dating. Newsletter, please tell us about yourself and this month's articles. On your mark, get set, go!

SEO and the Conversion Funnel

Online, a conversion is the accomplishment of a goal on your site. A conversion can be anything from the purchase of a product to the download of a whitepaper to the sign-up of a newsletter. Basically it's any action that represents a goal of your site.

Usually, not every visitor to your site will end up performing a conversion. From entering the site to placing a product in a shopping cart, to entering their payment info, the conversion process can require anywhere from one to many steps and at each step there is a percentage of users who abandon the process rather than continuing to the next step.

Knowing how many visitors make it to each step along the conversion funnel can help an SEO recognize lost opportunities and obstructions in the conversion process. Be sure to tailor each step in the conversion process to the information needs of a visitor in that stage of the conversion. And take advantage of tools, like the Funnel Visualization Report in Google Analytics, that help you recognize stumbling blocks along the path to conversion. Through information and action, an SEO can streamline each step of the conversion funnel and optimize site performance overall.

Writing Great Web Site Content (for Users and Spiders)

Content is what the Web is all about. To attract visitors and impress search engine spiders, your Web site needs good text content and plenty of it. To make your content development goals a little bit easier, we've put together these tips for writing good content that can help you create text that's both readable and rankable for your Web site.

First of all, a writer should consider subject relevance. The Web site should be organized in such a way that search engines can tell what subject(s) it's about. Each page needs to be focused on a particular topic to boost that page's relevance for a related search query. The Internet was built on this information-sharing model, and it's still the best way to establish trust and relevance in the eyes of users and search engines.

A writer must also write for the audience. Whom do you want your Web site to reach? This is worth some serious thought and research. Look at your current customer list and try to spot demographic or interest commonalities. Do you see similarities in age, gender, education, occupation? Define as much specific information as you can about your target audience. As you consistently build your Web site content, your subject relevance will grow. Your effort will be rewarded with higher Web site rankings and more satisfied, relevant, site users.

And the newsletter didn't even hint at all the news bites included inside, like upcoming events, industry kudos, insider rumors and previews of the SEM Synergy podcast. I mean, just take a look at... guys? Guys?

Okay, I can take a hint. Time to leave you two alone. ;)