Sgt_Kickaxe - 12:53 am on May 31, 2010 (gmt 0)

Whitey, there is no question that Google has been collecting data. Log into your "Google Accounts" page https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount and see all the information they have listed about you on that one page.

~ your web history unless you opted out
~ your history with every tool you've used
~ data about every blogger post you've ever made
~ Knol, subscribed links, feedburner, reader... the list is endless and your history is in each

Click on "view data stored in this account" and log into your google account. Next scroll WAY down to the very bottom and click on "show all" next to "Other Products". Your history is stored for each of those.

More importantly, click on the "Webmaster tools" link called "manage my sites"... those sites are tied to you as a webmaster too. All the info is on that one page suggesting it is all available from one central database location. I'd be very surprised if that info wasn't used in adding a quality factor to the sites because of YOU as a webmaster. If you're a known spammer do YOU hurt the quality of all sites you own?

Back on topic...

Google has decided that those terms want a different type of page from a different taxonomy category, and that's that

That fits with the latest change results too. I know there are owners who are on cloud 9 with all the new traffic they are getting, it has to be going somewhere, so until they speak up and their sites are analyzed chalking it up to a lost cause makes sense. I just wish I wasn't seeing mashup sites and multi sub domain sites with identical content rankings so well.