Suggested schwag: triple-tap AC adapters
I’m still crunching on my non-webspam logistical project, plus I’m about 400 emails behind. I’m also going to fly up to Kirkland on Tuesday and Wednesday to say hello to the Webmaster Central team and check in with them. I feel bad for not posting much recently, so I rummaged around and found this gadget post. If you want an SEO fix, check out this interview with Eric Enge that I did last week Sept. 24th (time flies!). If you still want more SEO, you may not have seen this interview with Dan Keen that I did several weeks ago.
Okay, back to the gadget post. 
Conference schwag is mostly lame. Here’s an idea for some killer schwag that people would actually use.
At SES San Jose, the wifi worked really well, but power outlets were few and far between. I snagged one and sat by it during one of the panels. At one point, someone came up and said “Mind if we share this power outlet?” and whipped out a “triple-tap” adapter that converts one AC plug into three. Here’s what they look like:
(The one on the left has all the AC plugs in a row, while the one on the right is a compact cube that also has three plugs.)
“Wow, what a wonderful idea!” I told the other fellow at the session.
“Yup, they’re great at conferences and airports where everyone wants extra power outlets,” he said. (I didn’t get the guy’s name.) You can pick up these AC adapters at any hardware store for a few bucks.
You can see where this is going, right? Rebrand these adapters as “Airport/Conference adapters” or some other cool/hip name. By the way, if you don’t think AC adapters can be branded, I’ll politely remind you about the PowerSquid.
Anyway, once these little items are hot then you give away branded units at conferences. Here’s my proof-of-concept:
I gots teh mad Paint.NET skillz. Anyway, this schwag would beat yet another retractable modem cord by a mile. That is, at least until everybody going to conferences had 5-6 of these.
Harith Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 12:49 am
Matt,
Would you like to elaborate more on this part of the interview, when you have time. Either here on your blog or on Sphinn http://sphinn.com/story/8667
Thanks a bunch
Matt Cutts Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 1:08 am
Harith, you caught me just before bed. I’ll head over to sphinn to comment since this is more of a gadget post. I did update the post to mention that Eric and I talked on Sept. 24th. Where did that other week go?
Bryce Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 2:11 am
Wow, you guys have ugly looking power points in America.
SEarCHenGinesWEB Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 2:39 am
They now even make those gadgets with surge protectors.
Some come with embedded small night lights.
-------------------------------------------
BUT ON THE SUBJECT OF HIDDEN TEXT & PENALTIES as discussed in that interview, SearchEnginesWeb does indeed have a few critiques. These critiques are passionate and frank - there is no need to take them personally or be hurt by the outrage.
---> You do NOT have a right to penalyze any site for tactics. It is unethical and undemocratic! You do NOT have the right to do it. This practice must be stopped and stopped now
---> Never decide what the public should and should not see; let the public decide for themselves. With the exception of malware and useless spam, you have an ethical obligation to allow the free flow of information.
---> Webmasters should not be treated like they are being jailed or suspended.
If you detect hidden text - go the extra distance to analyze if the hidden text is UNRELATED to the displayed text. Then, manually remove it from showing up for those SERPs keywords only - but leave it in the index for their valid keywords.
If the Website has *RELATED * hidden text - leave it alone. The hidden text may be synonyms or acronyms or hidden so as to not conflict with the design aesthetics of a homepage.
Many Webmasters would love to make flash pages or graphic homepages because of beauty - then HIDE the homepage text - but have the text on other clickable parts of the site.
We do not live in a perfect world. It is idiotic to pretend it is and to be adamant about absolute ideologies. This just is not realistic nor is it fair and practical.
It is also dangerous. When you get to the point of deciding what tactics should ELIMINATE a site’s appearance in Google’s SERPs, you cross a line that could have a harmful effect on Web design and information flow and access.
This reply is designed to make Googlers think, it should not be seen as an attack on sensitive egos. Every policies enacted affects hundreds of millions or strangers around the world. Think and discuss this reply with perspective and objectivity.
Sooner or later - as you have done in the past - you will conclude that
*¨¨*:•.(¯`’•.¸ Search Engines Web ¸.•’´¯) .•:*¨¨*
is right!!
Brian Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 2:51 am
Other folk on this blog go to Conferences a lot more often than I do but has anyone ever got one of those swisstravel adapters as a freebie?
http://www.swisstravelproducts.com/power/power.html - It takes any plug and outputs it into any socket. I know friends that have bought 3 or 4 of them but if you combine it with Matt’s idea then you be set up for international business travel! Would save you a few quid too as they cost about €20 each.
Chris Hunt Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 3:49 am
I think I’d wait for the Apple-designed adapter - it’s got to be possible to make one that isn’t that ugly.
I foresee a problem with this kind of handout though. Imagine a cluster of conference-goers around a socket, with adaptors plugged into adaptors to run umpteen laptops off a single plug. I’m no electrician, but that doesn’t sound like a good scenario to me - it’s something conference venue owners probably won’t want to encourage.
Website Design Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 3:54 am
I read complete interview, it was very interesting.
I have one query. I have seen sitewide links are more effective than link from one page of any website. But don’t you think that sitewide links are more look like paid links?
I know it is bit off topic, but i am really eager to hear few words from you on this.
g1smd Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 4:09 am
Only last month, someone blogged about the lack of availble power sockets at conferences and how he always took a multi-way adaptor to guarantee getting power, and was then able to offer a few empty sockets for a few other people to hook up too.
If you’re going through any sort of voltage converter box 100 -- 220 Volts then be sure not to add too many points and overload the system. At SES London last year, one of the convertors smelt a bit frazzled when running about 8 laptops, and eventually cut out.
Richard Chmura Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 4:52 am
@Matt, I like the furious paint proficiency of which you are in posession.
Can I haz googol p0wer tew?
-I do have a question: as you mentioned both your non-webspam project and Webmaster Central in close proximiy; will we see some significant (non-design-related) changes in the logistical functionality or usability of WC?
@Bryce: we actually call it “Google Presentation” - power point is old news. *smirk* oh and beauty is in the eye of...
Not just another blog Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 4:52 am
Searchenginesweb - if people wnat a flash or graphic homepage why not use the tag, that is exactly what it is there for.
Can’t see the logic of the rant.
Without rules/guidelines the web will be even more like the wild west than it is already.
Tim Linden Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 5:29 am
LOL I got a bunch of these things.. Didn’t realize people didn’t know about them?
Robert Accettura Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 5:47 am
The best schwag is usable schwag... retractable modem cord isn’t a bad one (just too much of it). Wish someone bothered with retractable ethernet... would be handy.
This really isn’t a bad idea. I know I’d keep one around. Very handy.
Sam I Am (aka Sam Daams :) ) Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 6:23 am
That’s quite a good tip: I often find myself staring in envy at the guy who got the power outlet before me at the airport gate or the coffee shop around the corner
400 emails? Maybe mine is still somewhere in that pile waiting to be answered after 4 months??? Fingers crossed!! It’s really frustrating to have to slice out massive chunks of unique content from a top quality site just in the hope that Google will start being able to get through it all, if that is even the problem to start with (note, only Googlebot is not getting access, all the other search engines don’t have any problem with it, so effectively your search engine is becoming less relevant for everything we end up trying). At the moment, the following quote from the article is ringing in my ears: “We don’t want to remove resources from our index longer than we need to it, especially if it’s relatively high quality. But, at the same time we do want to have a clean index and protect the relevance of it.”
I hope as a Googler concerned with the quality of your index you’d have a look at either the email I sent you or one of the many posts in the webmaster centre of google groups.
Thanks!
Ryan Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 6:43 am
I still carry one of these in my laptop bag. It came in handy many times in college - where for some reason lecture halls only had about 4 plugs per 100 students.
Brian Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 6:45 am
Actually on this topic, what is the maximum number of plugs you’ve seen run out of one socket?
I was at a small conference once in the Jameson Distillery where they ran 31 plugs out of one socket, which included laptop, pcs, tvs, and a band’s amps and PA system.
Amazingly we didn’t all die!
Fiona Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 6:52 am
i only read this blog nowadays for the pue joy of seeing what Sarchengineweb has to say. Would you not let him contribute to your main pages ?
seogeek Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 6:52 am
If your like me you would be happy to receive one at most conferences. These things are like pens, they disappear faster than you can get them.
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 8:00 am
This has to be SEW. No one in their right mind would ever care what that guy has to say most of the time. The one time he gets a point right never makes up for the 999 he gets wrong.
Anyway, on to the adapters. If you’re going to give them away, you’ve got to get the ones that have the 180-degree swivel (most of them don’t, but Home Depot carries them). That way, you can point them straight down to the floor and tape off the wire if you want to. Think of the duct tape possibilities! Big silver lines across a low-pile red carpeted floor. It’s what the chicks dig.
suresh Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 9:17 am
I always carry one and i recommend the same to my friends and collegues, Very useful, Also I was looking for All in one Charger with this additional Extension Cords. We all know what a pain it is to carry chargers for Iphone, Camera, Laptop, Phones etc.
Thanks
Suresh
Maurice Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 9:18 am
I have a 4 way adaptor that is in my away team kit that goes with my laptop i have a duplicate phone charger (and i might get one of those hand cranked multi phone type ones) I cary spare patch cables usb hubs, mic’s, balanced cables ect.
I think Vanessa did a post about how she preped for conferences.
I’me involved with on a formal conference on the organising side and next year i will be taking a small toolkit plus my networking tool kit (and probaly a few wrt54g’s and switches) and lots of gaffer as we want to try having a small private network for the top table.
Keri Morgret Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 11:18 am
Matt,
I think you may see something like that at Pubcon this year. I blogged about something similar during last year’s Pubcon (http://www.morgretdesigns.com/index.php/2006/11/14/a-branded-product-id-love-to-see-at-pubcon/) and Brett said then that he had added it to the list for next year. I didn’t think of having them as individual schwag though, just as having plenty of outlet strips available in each room.
Thomas Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 11:43 am
I had one of these at SES San Jose. Worked our nicely!
Bruce Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
I have several of those small cube plugs as I like the size. No matter how big the outlet though, I can never seem to find the right plug to pull out of it without wrapping a little tape around the cord with a note telling me “monitor”.
Michael VanDeMar Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
I can see it now...
j/k
So if you are 400 emails behind, exactly how long does that take you to catch up with once you get the chance? Is it a full time endeavor, or do you have borg like powers that allow you to do them in batches?
And don’t you go into blog withdrawal...?
Michael VanDeMar Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 2:04 pm
Matt... do you have cache control on? I tried commenting, but nothing showed, so I tried again, and it gave me a message saying that it looked like I had already submitted that.
Michael VanDeMar Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 2:06 pm
I guess not... dang, my other comment was funnier, but it blocked it because I had switched to my other site for the URI... and now I can’t repost due to the duplication thingie.
Ah well... nice to see you posting again anyways.
Dave (original) Said,
October 8, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
So, what you are saying is: ALL sites can do as they wish with their own sites, but this EXCLUDES Google. Isn’t THAT “unethical and undemocratic”?
Nick Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 12:45 am
Worst blog entry to date! Stick to the ‘make my mp3’s legal’ idea, that idea was actually earth shattering and upset me i didn’t consider it first.
Kate Morris Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 6:09 am
We miss you Matt. Hurry up and get your work done.
Nice job on the swag idea. I might have to do that at a show. Hmm.
Oh, and yeah, we do have ugly outlets, but then again, all other countries outlets look ugly to me. I guess it’s what you’re brought up with. It’s electricity. What’s pretty about it?
Mark Knowles Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 6:36 am
Matt,
These are great. I heard about a privately sponsored think tank that is working on a way to boost the performance up to 25%. They are about to publish their work on adding a fourth outlet to the current industry ceiling of three.
MK
JLH Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 9:40 am
Matt’s been busy writing great articles about the correct use of nofollow for the Google Webmaster’s Help Group.
http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help-Indexing/browse_thread/thread/cf504ffd28b6bb68/21b12da30e8b0de2
The Dog Clothing Company Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 9:42 am
You might want to consider bringing along some outlet converters when travel internationally.
spamhound Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 9:42 am
Hey Matt,
Unfortunately while you have been off working on non spam related stuff, the India optimized SEO sites are really taking over.
These are sites from the never ending emails we all get offering to do the 3 way link thing and they always come from people with made up names so they sound more americanized.
These sites are really coming on strong.
Me thinks the spam team needs Inigo Montoya back.
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 4:48 pm
I’m not one to monitor SERPs (waste of time anyway), but spamhound’s got a really good point as far as the number of spammy link exchange requests coming from India as of late.
Hey spamhound, have you gotten any from eBrandz? Just curious.
drhady Said,
October 9, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
Nice job on the swag idea. I might have to do that at a show
Dave (original) Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 2:51 am
Matt, great post on nofollow on the newsgroup. As silly as it sounds, I never considered to use nofollow on internal site links. Excellent way to distribute PageRank without diluting down the flow to pages.
dockarl Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 3:14 am
Original Dave - Yep - it was a great post.. along with Eric Enge’s interview it answered alot of questions I had. I do have a couple questions though - they are related even if they seem not to be (if you’re wordpress SEO savvy you’ll understand where I’m heading).
1. I understand from your posts that robots.txting out pages and meta noindexing them does not stop pages from receiving pagerank from the rest of the site (I think) whereas rel nofollow does. What about a sitemap? If your sitemap points to pages that are otherwise internally rel nofollowed does the sitemap count as an followed internal link?
2. How many links on a HTML sitemap can googlebot handle without a) raising red flags or b) running out of steam - 100, 200, 1000?
doc
Dave (original) Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 3:21 am
doc, I pretty sure the link max for a page should be 100 or less. I believe Matt has posted this number sometime ago. Try a quick search for “100 links” or simliar
dockarl Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 4:03 am
Thanks Dave -
I have seen that but it’s always been given ‘approximate’ status.. ie ‘you should be right if you don’t have more than 100 links per page’.
My main reason for asking is that for blogs using wordpress we have loads of duplicates all over the place (search “site:www.utheguru.com seo_wordpress” for an explanation). We used to think that meta noindex,following the dupes was the way to go but it seems that doesn’t stop PR being passed to them.
From a plugin developers perspective the next best thing would be to rel nofollow the categories,rss,login,etc alltogether and herd googlebot toward a page that contains links to every single post in the wordpress blog - but I’m concerned that might have negative effects if the blog had large quantities of posts.
There are alternatives but they’d be vastly more difficult to implement within the constraints of wordpress.
Cheers,
doc
loaverman Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 5:50 am
I have seen that but it’s always been given ‘approximate’ status.. ie ‘you should be right if you don’t have more than 100 links per page’.
Deceth Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 9:27 am
When I go to a conference I bring an adapter and sell my extra outlets like text links on my website
This of course gets me dirty looks, even though im only trying to maximize profit from my outlet space.
I guess I can see why Google frowns upon paid text-link-ads now
Amber Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 9:33 am
SEarCHenGinesWEB, do you not see the paragraph before you make a post?
Quote: “Got a webmaster-related question or suggestion that is not directly related to the topic of this entry? Instead of posting it here, your best bet is our official Google forum linked from http://www.google.com/webmasters/ ”
You never, ever have anything positive to say, and almost always go off topic. Matt, please consider using the ignore feature, or temp ban.
Matt Cutts Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 11:44 am
Amber, I’ve warned SEW at times in the past. Believe it or not, he’s more constructive now than he used to be.
Dave (original), thanks! I’ve been meaning to make it over to the group before now, and I finally got my badge, so I can post and people will know it’s me.
Bear in mind that the “100 links per page” is more like a best practice guideline than something that’s a hard requirement for Google. That said, I think keeping the number of links on a page to something reasonable is a good idea in any case.
Richie Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Sorry Matt but your spam team has really pissed me off big time.
You always go on about how much you guys pride yourselves on your SERP and how you come down on sites that are misbehaving.
Well I have news for you, I have sent spam report after spam report to your team and nothing has been done for 6 MONTHS, yes 6 MONTHS.
We work hard to produce good information sites and play by the rules but sites like this are obviously cheating and nothing is ever done about it and not just me but other site owners are getting fed up with it.
If nothing is done about this you are going to see thousands and thousands of spam sites out there because you obviously dont do anything about it.
This is the site: http://www.hotpropertiesspain.co.uk
and this is what his frontpage looks like:
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Looks like a site that google really likes!
Dick Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
My experience is that on all conferences they always give either CDs, or RJ45 retractable. Never got any AC plug
and got like 7 of RJ45 stuff.
Harith Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
Richie
“Looks like a site that google really likes!”
How do you know Google really like that site?
corey Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
Matt, I wish you wouldn’t one-off Michael Gray. I appreciate that you take the time to respond when he calls you out, but many people realize that you’re just dodging the real questions at hand.
http://www.wolf-howl.com/google/more-paid-links-double-talk/
Ryan Douglas Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
Matt-
Thanks for the feedback and link on the blog post I had which you politely mentioned in your interview with Eric regarding the hidden text on the aforementioned access panels . net website. While we weren’t as angry as Richie, we definitely were trying to find out how a particular site may be ranking higher than us in one of our niche verticals for a particular query. We did report it and confidently knew your team would be able to take care of the problem. I was also able to submit a post to hopefully bring up the topic to the ‘influentials’ in the industry of all things e-commerce. Our vertical is not unique or alone in the prevalance of ill-advised SEO practices to rise in SERPs, and we learned a good amount from previous posts on your blog from other webmasters who were being reprimanded for their actions (who were in our vertical in one case).
BTW- great schwag idea!
Dave (original) Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
Richie, is the site ranking well for any relative terms? If it is, how do you know the keyword stuffing is part or, or the reason for it ranking?
I believe Matt has stated many times (and common knowledge in the SEO community) that Google mainly use spam reports to better their algo and/or test new additions to it.
I would bet that Google can and do indentify keyword stuffing and ignore/discount it.
I just did a quick check in the SERPS for: Property for Sale in Spain and alike and could find the said site?
Central Ohio Search Marketing Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 8:53 pm
Hey Matt,
While you are chatting with the Webmaster Central team, any chance you can get them to change the page they have on that site about SEO making all SEO firms sound like scam artists?
I swear if I were reading that page as a potential SEO client, I wouldn’t have any interest in SEO services either. Sure, a lot of the content is good info for people that know nothing about SEO, but there are some comments that are a bit too generally inclusive. For example, because an SEO doesn’t report every spam abuse it finds to Google, they aren’t ethical - “Ethical SEO firms report deceptive sites that violate Google’s spam guidelines.” Of course, if anyone has the time to report every single piece of spam to Google, they wouldn’t have time to do real work. Then there is my favorite, “For your own safety, you should insist on a full and unconditional money-back guarantee.” This is written just below the part that nobody can guarantee top rankings, which is fine and legit. But it does lead to the question of what kind of money back guarantee should the client look for if there are no guarantees? Personally, I am very good at the services I do for clients and have been fortunate to never have a client ask for a refund, so I don’t know how I would respond if asked. I don’t think that a company not willing to offer one is somehow unethical. Everyone’s time is worth money, and if someone is trying to get ranked on the first page for an extremely competitive keyword, I’ll work hard to do it and put as much time into it as the client would like to pay for, but knowing that they are paying for my time and not for guaranteed results. They are paying for my experience and expertise, which is not something I see as “refundable”, just like I couldn’t ask an attorney for a refund because he or she lost my case.
Given, several of the comments define black hat and advising people to stay away from that is fine and dandy, but most of the things that are defined would be so beyond comprehension for most clients that I’m not sure who the target audience is.
Anyway, sorry to ramble. I came across that page again today and it always irks me to see how Google views SEO firms.
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291&ctx=sibling
Richie Said,
October 10, 2007 @ 11:33 pm
Sorry about my out burst but I am so fed up with all the sites that are cheating whilst we are trying to practice good and organic SEO.
Times are hard enough already in Real Estate as they must be in the States and all over the world at the moment, this site is potentially taking value clients that could be going to agents that follow the rules!
This site comes up for hundreds of search terms in google but the fact that NOTHING has been done over such a long period of time really alarms me.
Dave (original) - yes, keywords in the stuffed text is coming up in the SERP’s - anyway, what is the point of having all these keywords on the frontpage? It isn’t exactly helpful to visitors is it? It is only there in my view to gain an unfair advantage. This site has next to no links, has an SEO score of 0%, uses frames and quite simply is a complete mess.
Rich Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 12:34 am
Matt
Sorry if my post caused this thread to steer even more off course!! I guess it must have stirred up some strong feelings Richie has.
Anyway, once you get your project out of the way, how about some more Q&A videos, they were real fun last year.
Also, I have a new computer now, old one was rubbish, so I sould be able to watch without it crashing!
Rich
Dave (original) Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 2:09 am
IF that is true, whoever it was was WAY out of order. However, you tell soooooo many lies Keniki and talk so much crap I doubt it is.
You ARE your own worse enemy Keniki and the biggest blog spammer I have ever seen, and I’ve see many.
Dave (original) Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 2:24 am
Central Ohio Search Marketing, the “SEO” industry has given itself a black-eye, NOT Google or any other business. It is up to each SEO professional to give themselves a good name, not Google.
From what I read, Google have written these to protect those *who hire a SEO* and NOT to protect the SEO professionals.
IMO they are NOT blunt enough.
Harith Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 5:56 am
Dave org.
Any url handy of that article?
Ken Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 8:49 am
Hey Matt,
Where can I buy one of those Google A/C adapters?
I gotta have one...
Ken
Brisbane SEO Guy Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 1:32 pm
Is that power adaptor fused? That would be a good feature to prevent overload and possible fires.
Central Ohio Search Marketing Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
Dave (original) - I agree that there are plenty of bad apples in the group that undeservedly call themselves SEO’s. I just always chuckle when I see that article thinking geez, Google hates our industry, despite also fueling it. I agree that helping those that need help is good for everyone, but unfortunately the people that the article is directed at aren’t searching for and finding that article. And the comment about not trusting anyone that won offer a money back guarantee is unfair to those of us that actually do things the right way.
David Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 5:46 pm
Wow - What’s all the grief about here?
Not nice considering........
Dave (original) Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 6:36 pm
I don’t for a second see how you can state that, BUT, if it’s true, there is no issue
Why is it that 90% of those is the SEO industry always state their opinion as *fact*?
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 10:59 pm
Oh cut the crap already! It’s a foot race between you and Wall to see who can come up with the most pointless rhetoric (although he’s still winning just because people actually listen to his BS).
If you “want out”, then stop posting, stop bragging, stop claiming that you’re outing blackhats despite posting no evidence, and stop drawing attention to yourself. This isn’t rocket science.
I think that Ohio search marketing guy has a bit of a point in that the “money back guarantee” portion has multiple contexts. Further reading of the paragraph that’s being referred to indicates what Google probably intended to say(important part emphasized by me for clarity):
An alternate wording of the paragraph could state:
This avoids most reasonable possibility of the paragraph being taken out of context and avoids any SEOs potentially getting asked for refunds simply because their client is pissed off about something that may or may not have been the SEO’s fault, while still allowing the client the degree of protection (s)he/they should have.
You won’t satisfy everyone with that explanation, but I think you keep a lot more people happy (or at least take away one more excuse for SEOs to bitch, which I believe brings the total down to 99,999.)
Because it’s the only industry where black and white are largely perceived to be the same colour.
Dave (original) Said,
October 11, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
Adam, IMO, in the context of paying for SEO, the text isn’t written to keep anyone “happy”. They are there, so those who do pay for SEO services, know their rights, be it legal or moral.
If they keep SEO’s on their toes and inform customers of their rights that is a good thing. The only ones who wouldn’t like that are the blackhats.
Who cares what SEO think of Google’s Guidelines? I doubt Google does, their main customers are millions who use Google each hour.
I would BET that Google only keeps blackhat SEO close because it’s always wise to keep enemies closer than friends.
Stack Man Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 2:05 am
.... or you could make a stackable plug, a plug with 3 pins in the bottom and 3 holes in the top, and you can stack them, plugging in a new plug into the top of the other plug.
(Note that they’d need a fuse since otherwise you could stack them beyond their current limits, but that’s minor detail.)
Aaron Shear Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 2:08 am
Another great schwag could be a multi country adapter, especially since they charge so much for them.
Just thinking out loud Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 2:32 am
I wonder,
is it not possible to make those adaptors fan out in a semi circle to make a 5 way adaptor more compact, some sort of ‘compact travel splitter’.
Look the at 3 way adaptor in your picture, image the 3 sockets curving around the plug, and increased to 5 in number.
Imagine a semi circle, on the straight side is the plug, on the curved circumference is 5 sockets pointing out at angles 0,45,90,135,180.
Each socket alternates left and right, so that the earth of one is next to the two pins of the next. This is done so that sockets don’t touch as they come close to the center of the semi circle and can be fitted in a much tighter space
i.e. imagine the outside unwrapped (E=earth, L=live, N=neutral, #=space used to align the columns in comments):
#E#L#N#E#L#N#E#
L#N#E#L#N#E#L#N
Rather than
#E###E###E###E###E##
L#N#L#N#L#N#L#N#L#N#
The sockets on the outside of the semi circle would be spaced at the proper plug interval so full plugs could go in, but the holes for the sockets would be closer together towards the center of the semi circle, so something needs to be done to avoid them touching, hence the alternate rotation of the sockets..
I wonder too, isn’t it time we had a little drawing widget for blogs. So that people can not only write but also scribble in the comments sections too?
You could have the comment box on the left, and a javascript scribble area on the right and when the person moves over the scribble area, it shows a pencil, you scribble, the coordinates are stored in a javascript array, and passed to the server as coordinates in the POST that happens when you submit the comment. The blog software would insert a bit of javascript to reconstruct the scribble if there are points in the array.
Harith Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 7:48 am
Central Ohio Search Marketing, Dave (original) , Multi-Worded Adam and other friends!
I have posted today on Sphinn a relevant article which you might wish to view:
Are Your Clients Entitled Of Refund For Ethical SEO Work?
Harith Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 7:49 am
Sorry the link to the said article didn’t show up. Here I go again:
Are Your Clients Entitled Of Refund For Ethical SEO Work?
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 8:00 am
Sorry, Harith. I refuse to read Spham.
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 8:08 am
That’s half of my point. The way it’s worded right now, there’s no mention of the guidelines or the things website owners should and should not expect. As it stands right now, 99.9% of webmaster don’t even know the guidelines page exists, never mind most website owners. It’s one thing to say “get a contract where the SEO promises to be a good boy”, but another entirely to say “get a contract where the SEO promises to be a good boy and not do A, B, C, and D.”
I don’t think there’s a true SEO in the world that wouldn’t support the idea of customer awareness and protection. Anyone out for his/her client’s best interests owes it to the client to give the client as much information and boundaries that are as clearly defined as reasonably possible.
It happens that in my rewriting ot the paragraph, a positive for SEOs was gained as well. That wasn’t the primary goal, although it did create a certain “win/win/win” situation for Google, website owners, and SEOs. The bigger issue is site owner protection and clearer explanation of what to and what not to expect.
David Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
Matt get them branded and on sale at the Google Store I’m sure they’ll go in no time
David
John M Weaver Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
So where can I purchase one of these awesome adapters? HA!
David Payne Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
I wasn’t the guy that had the power adapter but I was the guy that denied you power access. I felt like a complete idiot when I realized who you were. Sorry Matt . . . make more videos so I can recognize you sooner.
It’s been a while, plus your cats have become an icon of pop-culture.
Take care, and, again, sorry.
David Payne
David Payne Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
Richie,
If you look at the cached text of the site.
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:http://www.hotpropertiesspain.co.uk/&hl=en&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-23,GGLG:en&strip=1
You will see all the spammy words weren’t even indexed and thus they aren’t having an impact on the SERPs (at least that’s the way I understand it).
The site doesn’t invoke customer comfortability anyway with the poor design and the obvious overstuffing of keywords. Users are becoming more savvy. Even if they do get a click-in, I doubt their conversion is impressive.
(Man, this is a heated thread. I need to catch up on what all this is about.)
David
Dave (original) Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
Harith, I’ll pop over and read it. But let it be known I think Sphinn makes the top ten worse “SEO” type site of all time. It seems VERY clear to me that Sphinn and associates have a vested interest in SE spam.
I think it is 100% of Google’s point.
Adam, IMO It would be unrealistic for Google to *repeat* their guidelines on a page just for those thinking of paying for SEO services. That would likely result in the few that do find them, hitting the back button.
Dave (original) Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
Harith, sorry buddy, but I kinda lost interest right about here;
Shouldn’t that be a “few” thousand?
Anyway, I pressed on regardless, but, like most “articles” on Sphinn, it puts a SPIN on what the facts really are. You are quoting text from Google and then writing replies by putting your own words in place of Googles.
I should have taken MWA advice
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 10:25 pm
Funny how mine almost always works out to be right, Dave. You oughta know that about me by now. That’s why I’m on TOP of the world and you’re on the BOTTOM. I outrank you strictly on the basis of latitude.
Jared Said,
October 12, 2007 @ 10:39 pm
Like the idea for the plug adapters, but I’d suggest adding a surge-protector style fuse into them to avoid the overload situations described above.
Definitely would not want Google’s (or whoever’s) name on something that started the fire that burned down the building...
dockarl Said,
October 13, 2007 @ 5:04 pm
Schwag like this needs an added dimension - the plug section of the adapter needs to be able to be rotated 360 degrees so that two schwags can be positioned in a side by side power point, irregardless of whether the power point has obstructions (like a desk) nearby.
doc
Matt Said,
October 13, 2007 @ 7:16 pm
These are great, take up little space in my bag, and are spaced so you can fit a few power bricks connected at the same time:
http://www.monstercable.com/power/travel_power/outlets_to_go.asp
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 13, 2007 @ 11:09 pm
How would the internal wires not get tangled up and not short out in that scenario, dockarl?
That’s not a rhetorical question, either. I’m not sure if you’re visualizing something I’m not.
Matthew Anderson Said,
October 14, 2007 @ 12:52 pm
Sounds good to me.... I’ve just upgraded my laptop recently and bought a great big bag to go with it for accessories. Should be able to cope with an adapter in it!
Dave (original) Said,
October 14, 2007 @ 6:12 pm
Some sort of internal rotar cuff. Not positive, but I think I have seen these sold before.
A really neat, but very expensive, way I have seen on TV, (so it must be true
) is a metal skirting board that is at the base of all 4 walls of a room. The plug can slide along it and be used anywhere along the 4 walls.
dockarl Said,
October 14, 2007 @ 9:14 pm
Multi-worded adam - I imagine you’d use something like a bearing and plate arrangement - a bit similar to what’s used in some steering wheels.
doc
Shashi Bellamkonda Said,
October 15, 2007 @ 5:29 am
When i last visited India it was cool to see the cell phone companies have chargers all over the place in airports and stations. Just plug in no payment required. The US companies should emulate that.
Richard Hearne (RedCardinal) Said,
October 15, 2007 @ 10:17 am
Hi Matt
A little late, but I’ve read Eric Enge’s interview (great interview - thanks) multiple times now to make sure I’m absolutely correct in my understabding of NoIndex, NoFollow etc.
This one causes me some bother:
Can a page with a NoFollw metatag accumulate pagerank?
Thanks in advance,
Richard
Oppo Said,
October 16, 2007 @ 12:01 am
I like the google branding of the adaptor. Too bad about the lawsuit they are going to hit you with Mwahahahahaha
Also a great pick up line. “Hey babe, can i share that socket with you? i have a real cool adaptor”
Oppo
http://www.dragonlasers.com
zooloo Said,
October 16, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
Like the great idea for the plug adapters, I’d suggest adding a surgeprotector style fuse into them to avoid the overload situations described above...
V. Winner Said,
October 17, 2007 @ 3:34 am
There needs to be some cool things like this in the Google Shop, available in European and UK varieties too.
Google Beer anyone?
Craig Said,
October 17, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
I’ve been giving talks on SEO & RIA at the Adobe MAX conventions (Chicago and now Barcelona).
This will seem like a tangent, but you’ll see how it’s relevant.
A number of developers and myself agreed, in a pub in Chicago, that Internet access should be free. We see it as a utility. We decided to start a movement to provide “free” Internet access for traveling geeks by bringing wireless routers with us and opening up access.
The hotel I am now in charges 10 Euros per day!
At the Chicago convention, a number of us decided that one of us would pay (me, since it was my idea) and bring a wireless router to broadcast to everyone else.
Matt, you don’t have to post this URL, but the backfiring drama of how the plot unfolded is on my blog: http://serentripity.wordpress.com/2007/10/13/fuck-you-wireless-drama-unfolds/
The plot backfired for relevant reasons.
Ray Burn Said,
October 17, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
Wow,
So Matt posts about AC adaptors and most repsonses are SEO and Spam Meltdown responses - yowsa
Hey we use those adaptors all the time in the UK - I use them in my home office as well.
Matt - If I plug even more computer stuff into the same AC outlet at home will it boost my SERP’s at all? (no answer sought on this last bit - this is Brit humour !)
Dave (original) Said,
October 17, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
When posts about anything the responses are always the same. That is, “hey Matt I worked hard on my site and I should be page 1 for.....”
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
October 17, 2007 @ 11:00 pm
Only if the outlet is PR4 or higher, so you’d better start link exchanging with other outlets in your house.
Dave (original) Said,
October 18, 2007 @ 9:45 pm
Now hold on there, MWA! You MUST be a professional “link builder” to do any link exchanges AND charge a high hourly rate so your clients don’t work out a Monkey could do the same.
Colin Colehour Said,
March 21, 2008 @ 12:10 am
Just saw a preview article about a new mini surge protector with 3 AC outlets and 2 usb ports. Now this would be the sweetest schwag given out at conferences. Its only $25 bucks to boot.
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=400738