Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim |
| Posted: 28 Jul 2008 09:43 AM CDT I feel sorry for any tech company trying to announce any news today–just about all focus is on Cuil. Still, these brave souls decided to take the plunge:
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| Cuil.com Claims to be Bigger, More Private than Google; Can’t Find its Own Page Though (Doh!) Posted: 28 Jul 2008 09:19 AM CDT
The stealthy start-up search engine launched last night with both arms swinging, and Google in its sights. Cuil’s “about us” page makes the bold claim:
But, that’s not the only attack Cuil is making. The new search engine claims to be better than Google et al in a number of ways, including:
What are Cuil’s chances? If you want an in-depth review of Cuil’s chances, I suggest you read what Danny Sullivan has to say. For those of you who prefer the “just give me the bottom line” approach, here goes. Size - Yes, the size of a search engine’s index has little to do with the quality of the results. We all know that. But, the average Joe doesn’t. If Google let’s Cuil get away with continual messaging that includes “we’re three times larger than Google,” your sister, aunt, parents will all be impressed by that claim. Privacy - This is a dark cloud over Google’s head. Has Google become big brother? Does it know too much? If Cuil can keep on at that message, then it might win users who would prefer to keep their searches private. Display - Take a look at Cuil’s search results. They look more like the homepage of a news web site. That three-column approach looks clumsy right now–compared to Google’s clean interface–but it’s different. When Google launched, it gained much ground because its display was different than others. Cuil could gain popularity just because it offers a fresh view of the web. One small snag. I tested Cuil’s search results and sure, it can find the important stuff. But, considering it’s supposed to be 3X the size of Google, why couldn’t it find my own Trackur.com web site? A search for Trackur found many references, but not the actual web site–which has been live for more than six months now. Perhaps the most embarrassing thing for Cuil, is that it couldn’t even find its own pages. I clicked on a “Our Philosphy” link and was greeted with this error.
Let’s hope that’s not an omen of things to come. Pilgrim’s Partners: Is a blogger attacking your company without you knowing? Monitor your online reputation with Andy Beal’s Trackur–try it for free! |
| Comcast Says FCC and Internet Access Principles Don’t Apply To Them Posted: 28 Jul 2008 08:28 AM CDT While we go about our daily mission of trying to make sense out of internet marketing–and make a few bucks while we are at it–there are some things happening in the background that we should keep an eye on. Recently, there have been discussions in high places about online privacy and there continues to be legal wrangling over who truly controls access to the internet. Here's one for the "taken for granted" section of our internet existence. As internet marketers it goes without saying that we want (and actually need) unfettered access to the internet by everyone. When I say unfettered I don't mean free because we know that most free models don't work over the long term (regardless of the product or service). What it means is simply that if we are legally gaining access to the internet then there should be no one or no thing that restricts us in any way. That is crucial to getting our messages across to everyone else who has that same freedom. Enter Comcast. You see, they decided that they should slow some of their customers' internet traffic because they used too much bandwidth. Poor "wittle" Comcast (No mention was given that their delivery of bandwidth is shared and not dedicated which is why this problem exists in the first place.) How dare someone actually use all the bandwidth they are paying for! In today's Wall Street Journal, an article states that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will:
Oh brother, just a few short years ago we were reading about a glut of bandwidth. This just sounds like an ISP trying to keep from expanding its network to save on costs and wring the last dollar from its customers while not expanding to meet growing bandwidth needs. Once again their shared delivery technique of bandwidth is the real problem here but I digress. The net / net of this is as follows. Internet providers like Comcast are one of the most important (if not the most important) link in the internet food chain that we all live in. If they decide to limit supply and then hold internet users hostage with internet metering techniques etc, it could hamper the ability to reach all those folks that need the stuff we have. Not important you say? Imagine grocery stores that decide that they don't need to provide a variety of food options anymore because it is too expensive to serve the few clients that actually buy more than bread and milk. So instead of having unfettered access to the variety we enjoy we are forced to take what is offered. Comcast, and I am sure many other of their industry peers, have no problem, however, with their take on the situation. Comcast said simply "that it didn't violate federal rules and that the FCC doesn't have the authority to enforce a set of "net neutrality" principles it passed in 2005." Take that all of you who want to actually use the internet as intended! Comcast is going to just take their network and go home because the rules don't apply to them. I guess, being at the top of the internet food chain means you are above the law and do whatever you please even if it violates the "access to all" mentality of us internet types. They can even determine whether a principle is real or not! Must be nice to be a King of the Internet, huh? As internet marketers we should be very aware and more than a little concerned about the restriction of bandwidth usage in the future especially of all the hype around video delivery is going to make the jump to reality. The real losers are those of us trying to "give the people what they want." Pilgrim’s Update: Learn online reputation management skills directly from Andy Beal. Attend the Online Reputation Management Workshop and save $400 when you register today! |
| Congratulations to Jordan McCollum - Baby Rebecca Arrives Posted: 28 Jul 2008 07:14 AM CDT Considering Jordan continued blogging up until just this Friday, you probably had little idea that she was about to give birth to her second baby. Well, the very next day Rebecca was born. Isn’t she a cutie?
If the doctor’s had let her, Jordan would have probably live-blogged the birth! Instead, her husband Ryan was coached through his first blog post. You can read the details here. Jordan will–hopefully–take a few weeks off and spend time with her new daughter, but we know she won’t be able to stay away for too long–how can anyone resist the lure of Linky Goodness? Please join me in congratulating Jordan. Pilgrim’s Update: Learn online reputation management skills directly from Andy Beal. Attend the Online Reputation Management Workshop and save $400 when you register today! |
| Online Reputation Management Workshop - Discount Ends this Week Posted: 28 Jul 2008 01:38 AM CDT You have only until the end of day Thursday to register for my Online Reputation Management Workshop and get the discounted rate of just $997. After July 31st, you’ll pay full price to attend. Whether you work for an online marketing/PR firm, or handle the branding for your employer, you'll want to attend the workshop. Heck, if you're an SEO, you should attend if only to learn how to manage a client's Google reputation. If you're not offering Google reputation management services, you're missing out! Expert training, a small class size, and a free Trackur account are just a few of the reasons you should attend. I hope you'll join me on August 7th, in Raleigh, NC! Pilgrim’s Partners: You need the 2009 Search Marketing Benchmarking Guide - seriously, you need this guide! |
| Posted: 27 Jul 2008 06:38 PM CDT Every month, we give thanks to the awesome advertisers who make it possible for us to bring you the best in internet marketing news. If you’d like to join the list, check out our current advertising discounts. HubSpot - is giving readers a FREE internet marketing kit with with 3 “How-To” videos and an instructional e-Book! SEMCheck - I've raved about SEMCheck before. For $12 (or less) SEMCheck will automate a whole lot of SEO checks. I love this service! Text Link Brokers - increase your traffic and search engine rankings. mobileStorm - need help with your mobile marketing campaign? mobileStorm can show you how. Sponsored Reviews - bloggers earn cash for reviewing products and services. Advertisers build buzz and links for your web site. PRWeb - the next time you send a press release, try PRWeb–it's the newswire I personally use. Weblinx - provides UK search engine optimisation services. MarketingSherpa - I can't get enough of MarketingSherpa's excellent guides. The 2008 Online Advertising Handbook & Benchmarks is a must read! Pilgrim’s Partners: Discover your Best Leads while reading your Email. Best Contact Form |
If you thought it strange that Google would all of a sudden 
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