BBS 2006: The Future of Findability

9:00 am --The Future of Findability

notes:

-- DaveTaylor, ask Dave Taylor: http://www.askdavetaylor.com/

-- as information ages it becomes less valuable. Google is the leader, other search engines are playing catchup. most on the stuff on the web is old.

-- if you can't be found you're already dead.

-- the world of blogging is the 21st century version of word of mouth.

-- it's not the numbers, it's the influencers. while we all believe we have free will, we don't. we're really influenced by thought ad opinion leaders. you just gotta hook up with them. hah! read The Tipping Point.

-- home pages are obsolete. exactly! it's the engine, stupid! :)
http://coolmel.typepad.com/iblog/2005/01/its_the_engine_.html

-- offline business in an online world. RL= real life; SL = Second Life.
http://secondlife.com/

-- MySpace.com is the single busiest site on the internet! so why aren't you there?! if you have a business, put it there!

-- YouTube.com is not for people doing stupid things. it rocks. $1.6 billion in Google acquisition says so :)

-- LinkedIn.com for finding your next employee and JV partner. MySpace for adults.

-- Facebook.com interesting alternative.

-- fresh content is important! Google dance = google updating it's algorithm.

-- DISCLOSURE or NOT? should you tell people if you are paid to blog certain things?
it's a complex question. disclosure is not as easy as it may seem.

-- transparency is a red herring. to whom? and how far?
look for thought and opinion leaders and read their blogs every day.

-- a blog is just a tool. there is no blog police. exactly!!!!
my take: it's a blogger not the blog :) (as far as personal domain of blogging is concerned that is)

question from audience: is the act of blogging more than the tool itself.
Dave's answer: no.

my take: i partially agree. but partly disagree. more on that later :)

-- cool blog attributes: cheap, search engine friendly, easy to manage, fun to produce, dialogue with customers (thing "focus group"), schedule publication in the future, others can produce your content.

-- smart blogging techniques; best practices: allow comments; have an authentic voice; identify your bias and relationship; establish credibility; write about what you know; share testimonials; follow your industry and market news; stay focused!

-- it's all about pages not just PageRank (pagerank is only one variable that Google uses in their algorithm).

-- by posting every single day you teach the search engine to visit you every single day!

-- pinging is one of the best secret weapons of the blogosphere. do ping-o-matic.


blog sites of interest:

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/

http://www.intuitive.com/blog/

http://findability.org/


reading list:

The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini

The Long Tail, Chris Anderson

Growing Your Business with Google, Dave Taylor