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So what awaits us in the future? Will it be Yalta, or, as most seem to think, Yinktomi? (Actually, I kinda like the idea of or Y'alltheweb for you Southerners!)
Will affiliates get a fair go? Certainly the playing field is changing, time to change bats perhaps?
Will MSN get their engine going? I hope so, and I hope there are more Search Engines waiting in the wings. We need more players and more variety, a little friendly competition at the top end.
It seems the the saying "there is nothing so constant as change itself" is as true today as ever. Of course Change is what the SEO business is all about. That constant duck and weave in pursuit of the allusive top position. "Should I use the keyword once or twice in the title and should I then use stems in the text? Will that have the desired effect come next update." Sigh, Decisions Decisions.
Whatever happens, we are, as the Chinese say, "living in interesting times."
So, following past traditions, let me start the official 2004 thread by wishing you all a Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year.
Onya
Woz
I think "safe and prosperous" will depend in 2004 on how far you have already penetrating your market on the web. I think new sites are going to find things much tougher than old established ones and the drive towards monetised results will be relentless.
I see Google as losing at least some of its dominance, obviously with Yaltawebtomiture giving Google the boot. But that will be termpered with a Google IPO I presume which will give it plenty of publicity to compensate for losing Yahoo.
But MSN is the big one for me. I really look forward to their offering as I am sure it will be incredibly monetised and I believe it will be rather user-centric so that different users get different results depending on their history, geography and previous search patterns. That will be very exciting for me and I can see will be very bad for others. Either way, MSN is a giant waiting to pounce and they are very good at steering jugganauts.
One thing that I havn't really seen much talk of is the obvious change in user behaviour as PDAs and non-terminal based Internet access grows. I am looking forward to seeing sites that only work in IE generating more and more lost traffic, hopefully to my benefit occassionally.
What is difficult in changing times is to grow the company I have found. A one or two person Internet Marketing business can learn and adapt very quickly, but as a business gropws it needs more sophisticated controls - especially quality controls - and every time we put a process in place that we think will last, the foundations change underneath us. Clearly this is the excitement of the game but it still gives one man experts an edge if they choose the right markets I think. In the end though, the big money marketing will win out.
Definitely interesting times.
Dixon.
Heck who knows how this can of worms will eventually turn out......as long as the good guys and gals make a decent Buck, Pound, Yen, or Euro for their efforts and have a good time in the process who really cares :)
lawman
Man, am I looking forward to a fresh start! Cheers and best wishes to the lot of you.
All the best for 2004.
Thanks for all for a great and productive year. Looking forward to a healthy and prosperous one for all here...and eveywhere.
Happy New Year.
Jim
Woz - I actually think they should call it Ink-all-over-yahooters....... : )
Happy New Year!
GO WebmasterWorld and I love you all - even the black hats...
Have a good 2004!
Must wish a special New Year to percentages who I know has the same underlying principles as myself despite recent threads
All the best
Ian
May Peace and Prosperity touch you all.
Happy new year to all. I hope you all have a very prosperous year!
Woz was looking to the future in his post but I find myself looking to the past. This board has certainly changed since I joined, so long ago. But the one thing that has remained constant is the friendliness and willingness to share among our members and staff.
I just want to thank each and every one of you for "lending your voice" and being a part of this place. I sincerely hope '04 brings each of you whatever it is that makes you happy!
Happy New Year! :)
Dave
Best wishes for a prosperous 2004.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This has been a very memorable year for me ~ I attended my first two PubCons, became the AdSense moderator and have made many wonderful friends here at WebmasterWorld. I can hardly wait to see what 2004 brings.
Happy New Year :)
EquityMind
Best wishes to everybody for the year.
Sid
May everyone experience their best performance to date in the new year. Salut.
Charis humin kai eirene.
/Ove
Let's make 2004 the best year for Webmasterworld. I'm sure that it's going to be an interesting one. :)
Happy New Year to my friends and my competitors ;)
Happy New Years to you all. I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous year!
