han solo - 3:40 pm on Jan 24, 2001 (gmt 0)

I love this discussion...good idea, but I believe it would be too prone to abuse, especially by lurkers.

Eg, if I feel that I'm good, I share, and I feel that none of the others matched my level of "contribution" I would feel like I gave away something that was near and dear, without getting any in return...

Or if I don't contribute any, and read the thread as others pour out their little hearts, and soak it all in...what value does this kind of knowledge have, if one didn't have to work to obtain it?

I feel like I sweated over every little tidbit I've learned over time, and I know that this place gives me a good number of those. I fire back what I can, but nobody gives away their business. There are way too many meta tag optimizing companies to be able to afford to really explain it.

I like the idea of client education, and letting them know the various merits of seo companies. I track most of them, and I can off the top of my head, place them on a scale, tell you what techniques they use, what operating systems their servers run on, if they cloak, if they use link farms, if they've been in business for long...etc. al.

I feel that knowing the business landscape is essential to success. Read Sun Tzu, "The Art of War." It is the oldest published work on military issues we have in the modern world, I believe, and it's philosophies are very applicable to business.

The reason I say this is that, in a certain sense, your competition is your enemy. Know them, become one with them. If they make a move, move with them, if it leads to more business. If you know something they don't, exploit it.

In my mind, there are two ways to run a business successfully. Imitation and innovation. If you immitate, you can do well, but will always remain one step behind the company you immitate. If you innovate, there are other challenges, such as making things work in the first place, and then staving off the "me too" competition.

Just some of my thoughts. Feel free to share yours on mine, I like adjustments to my outlook...that which does not bend, breaks and all that...

Cheers,

Han Solo