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Eh. I think this stuff is funny. I do wish people wouldn't take it so damn seriously though. I can understand Matt's discontent. I'm sure G can get pissy when his name is mentioned and he is quoted. But everyone else?
Sticks and stones people. Sticks and stones. Besides, I have a crass sense of humor as well. In person, it's very easy to tell that I am in no way offending anyone on a personal level. But in email/writing, I have been called into many an office to explain myself. So, before you feel offended, consider that it's not that serious. Really.
"Even if Lisa, for example, takes it as a joke, what if other people read that post and believe that the insults are true (why not, they're published on a reputable site)? That'll end up harming her rep."
I can certainly see where this would get to be a problem. I guess the thing was that I read it, and didn't even see the shots at anybody. This may be because of my sense of humor that I didn't even see it, but I wonder how many laymen would have caught it.
I'm not really keeping up with it, but I don't see that any of the people mentioned have even said anything about it. It seems to be others feeding the fire (I may very well be wrong about this).
"And while Rand said Rebecca is responsible for YouMoz posts, ultimately, responsibility rests with him."
This I do agree with. I know it's her "baby." And I know we don't want to stifle anyone, but in the end it is a business. Posts on disagreements about SEO facts are one thing, personal attacks (whether I personally see them or not) are something different.
I'm just sayng that I didn't see the big deal. However, if the Internet has tought me anything, it's that my opinion is not the only one.
I still think it's funny though.
@Chris1
Amen. Donna recently wrote that all this stuff may be because we are all bored. Now, a good, debatable article comes up, and we concentrate on something else. Good point, sir. Let me get on my 17 other Sphinn accounts and vote your comment up....
....
I mean....
Story: SEO Plagiarism
I see my thoughts plagerized all the time. I don't get upset though. I just remember that my blog is not my focus, and it's not even close to the stature of other SEOs' blogs. Besides, I get a chuckle thinking about someone taking my thoughts and feelings. I mean, if they could only see what those thoughts and feelings have done to my career....lol....
...
..aw crap.
Old enough to die for your country, old enough to drink in it I say. Congrats and happy late bday.
Yeah I'm with theGypsy. More often than not, I get clients that have established domains with plenty of links. Though they could always use more/better links, the on-page stuff (even the most basic) does wonders.
I don't think on-page SEO is going anywhere.
I'm with him on this one. Banning might sound a bit harsh, but I would hope that it would hurt SEMPO more than it's quality members. He makes too many good points in the post and his comment replies.
Story: 7 Signs of SEO Scams
Awww neat. Thanks for putting this on Sphinn infatex.
Please be forgiving for all the spelling errors.
Story: 11 Evil Bloggers Who Rock
1. Real SEOs … Don’t wear hats in public
Crap. I'm gonna have to change my avatar...and logo...and numerous picture of myself...and my chosen style. Well, that's SEO for ya; always changing.
Sphunn, but I would really be interested in seeing some of the raw data from the test(s)
Story: We Do Need SEO Standards
"Do you want to not be able to offer your own services or training classes because you didn't take SEMPO's (or Bruce's) (or anyone else's) Standards Class 101 or something to that effect?"
I might be the odd man out, but I actually DO want that. I would love to have to prove myself with some sort of badge, showing a potential client I'm not some guy ready to scam them. And I'm really tired of seeing good people get scammed this way. If it means I would have to fork over a ton of money to be certified, so be it. It would get rid of a lot of companies. IMO.
As for the research, I can't imagine how hard it must be for a business owner to sift all the stuff online to find ligitimacy. I remember first taking SEO seriously and wanting to pursue it, and not being able to find a single answer without the need to finally test it myself. I wouldn't ask a business owner to do that. They have other things to do.
Lawyers have a cert they have to pass. So do doctors and electricians. And as the years have gone by, the consumer knows to ask for those credentials. My lawyer would never say, "you didn't know that the contract should have been written this way? You need to research it." I wouldn't be paying him. That's his job.
I'm just way passionate about this. I used to work for a company with over 200,000 clients, offering SEO for 90$ a month. After a year or so, I realized that it was a sham (before that I didn't even know what SEO was). It breaks my heart to think that there are that many people, just from one company, wasting their money and there's nothing I can do about it. I would love for an industry wide standardization/ethics/certification/code/whatever to weed some of the crap out.
Story: We Do Need SEO Standards
"It's about defining WHAT we do, HOW we do it and WHY we do it so that others can use that as a resource to find the best practices and decide whether or not they want to follow them."
So who defines that, who sets the standards? Odds are people with a vested interest in promoting their methods and having them set as the "standards".
Who defined other certs. We (they) as a whole community. Surely someone could get enough niput from SEOs all over to make an accepted judgement. Hell, create a huge poll or questionnare, get it to all the SEMPO or Sphinn members. Get the results to create another poll or questionnare. Keep weeding and refining until there is enough agreement. It would never be perfect, but no system is. But if it can be widely enough accepted, then it would help more than I think people credit it.
Story: We Don't Need SEO Standards!
As much as I love you, Jill, I have to disagree.
You're right, there are a ton of ways to provide SEO, so maybe a review and standardization of methods isn't prudent. But we can all agree that titles are important to an extent; that links matter, that keywrods research is important (and common metrics to look for while researching keywords). We can agree that buying links can work, but carry an ever-growing risk. Hell, we can look at the last 300 posts on Sphinn and see common trends amongst almost everyone's stance.
Though technique probably shouldn't be in question, I think a standardization of basic understanding is in order. An industry standard with a review process and a "cert" would really cut down on the "my web guy, who is my brother's friend in college, said that I just need a keywords tag." I would be able to say (much like a doctor or lawyer) "did you check their qualifications?"
Law is the same. One lawyer might approach a case one way, where another a different way. But in the end, the law is the law. There are presedents and hard rules, but there are always loopholes and faults. Lawyers have to become board certified, why not us?
More importantly, maybe this will help me match my lawyer's fees with my clients.
Story: We Don't Need SEO Standards!
Wow, this article was really.... anyone wanna go play soccer?
Seriously, I've never looked at it like that before. Now that I'm starting to analyze how I handle projects, I may very well have a form of ADD. Alas, if this means I can be grouped with "successful CEOs," then I'm OK with this idea.
I guess I'm a little confused. Why didn't Google just buy this whole thing up? I mean wouldn't it have been more lucrative in the long run to WiFi the nation, offer free connections and serve up some juicy, irrelevant ads?
Can someone explain to me why they didn't?
Sphunn because I don't think I've ever seen that before. We see plenty of "get more traffic" posts, but I can't remember "your very first post" posts. Basic stuff, but that's usually the stuff that matters.
Sphinn because, as much as I hate it, you are right. We will not likely be able to change the made-up minds of the masses. Instead, we must give the baby what it wants. I just with it would shut the baby up sometimes.
Eh, I vote for "ruin our reputation?" The more services that pop-up offering "SEO for $25," the more times I have to explain to a potential client that it's not $25, and they would likely get better result by putting that money into a bag, lighting it on fire, and throw it out of a moving vehicle. At least that would provide some sort of entertainment.
Story: Plurk, You’re A Needy B****!