• Danny Sullivan at AdAge makes a point that I don’t think gets enough mentioning, which is that search-engine-optimization is primarily a public relations tool. The idea behind SEO is similar to that of PR, which is to have a brand name of some sort appear as a non-paid listing or mention. Sullivan also wisely points out that paid search and SEO need to live together and that, like other marketing efforts, the ideal solution may be a mix of the two. (CT)
  • Web entities of all shapes and sizes are adding features that resemble those found on social networks to try and connect their members/visitors. These features encourage deeper user interaction, but it’s also leading some sites that never used to to sell ads, sales of which are helped by these longer visit numbers. (CT)
  • AOL has trimmed the portfolio of sites it inherited from Weblogs Inc a bit more, shutting down a number of the life sciences blogs WIN was running. That takes the number down to 26, not including the various translations of Engadget and Autoblog. (CT)
  • I’m trying to figure out what the thinking is behind so many people praising services that consolidate your RSS reading to just what the service thinks is important or relevant. Isn’t one of the points of reading RSS feeds to be exposed to alternate viewpoints and a variety of voices? Or is that just me? (CT)
  • Everyone sees the funny behind Rocketboom deciding to turn ad sales over to Blip.tv, right? I know that they’re still going to be able to sell ads on their own site, but doesn’t this largely mean the RB team decided it couldn’t keep up with the emerging world of video ads and decided to ditch “original and clever” in favor of “simply a variation on the overlays everyone else is testing out.”? (CT)
  • Someone at Metafilter revisits the “You’re the Man Now, Dog” fad. Always a good way to kill 15 minutes while your boss if off celebrating his birthday. (CT)
  • I still used CD-Rs for data back-up I haven’t carried a floppy disk of any sort in years, opting instead for my handy flash drive. Apparently I’m not alone. (CT)
  • Seems MySpace News links, which just show a framed version of someone’s story, are being indexed as original sources by Google News. So you have a service that frames (read: brands) a publisher’s content getting traffic directed its way instead of the story itself. No, that’s not a problem at all, why do you ask? (CT)

Published by Chris Thilk

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist with over 15 years of experience in online strategy and content marketing. He lives in the Chicago suburbs.