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I have to ask as Google will be speaking in Florida soon yet I wanted to know peoples opinions on this for reasons as to better understand what these forums are all about (in how they relate to people talking here with the search engine employees (ie:GG) here.
Thanks
Serious answers only please
Hollywood
Just you, and people like you who don't understand that there is more than one side to a coin.
'Tanks...
Hollywood
Just you, and people like you who don't understand that there is more than one side to a coin.
Please...educate us...I'm begging you.
Post like that discourage really an intellectual discussion.
Questions like this can be discuss on a business point of view and not just about love/hate relationship with a search engine.
I'm not going into a long discussion about the advantages/disadvantages of anonymous/stealth public relationship but this tactic is older than the internet.
So spare me the 'they do it for the love of the people' speech.
End of story.
GoogleGuy initially joined WebmasterWorld because he's obviously interested in Search Engines and this is one of the best places to see what's going on from a webmaster perspective.
Then it morphed into a more official status and started supplying good feedback to Google, via GG.
Now he's an institution and he has no choice in the whole affair... if he disappears suddenly, there will be conspiracy theories, repurcussions, it might cause some butterfly effect that starts another Ice Age.
The Yahoo guy, who knows, but he seems helpful. Why knock it? It's good for us, and them too.
Great posts so far, but the real deal is what?
We advertise within their search results and advertising is THE reason that they can float their company, pay their employees and install funky japanese toilet systems etc... Some of the biggest PPC spenders in the world hang out here - so they come to find out what we are thinking, plotting, scheming and dreaming about - and if they can make it easier and more profitable for us to spend money with them in the process...
[edit]spelling...[/edit]
Why knock it? It's good for us, and them too.
We are a 1st page listing for this business, it's the primary keyword when searching for an SEO, we are in the top 10 (!st page of the SERPS)... the question is.... are any of these search engine employees really out here to get us to spill the beans of sorts? I sure feel that this is a primary thing for them, and as I said earlier is it just me?
Think about it....
Hollywood
"King of the Loafers"
>We are a 1st page listing for this business,
>it's the primary keyword when searching for an SEO
Um, me thinks you just gave a away a secret. :P
>are any of these search engine employees really
>out here to get us to spill the beans of sorts
Possible. So what? Do they help us more than hurt us? Do we help them more than hurt them? Having some insiders posting here is - at least in my eyes - a great thing. Does this mean i trust everybody and believe everything said? No. Why should i bother what all the [se here]Guys' motives are for posting here?!
I suppose that it is also good for his ego when he gets to help someone. I think that he has limitations put on him from above on what he is allowed to talk about, but I do not think that he is told what to say.
He is a coder, not a marketer.
They make money by providing relevant results, and we make money by getting the visitors.
While I'm sure that he likes money, that is almost never the primary motivation of a hacker when it comes to making their choices. Technical success is a lot more important.
I'm not going into a long discussion about the advantages/disadvantages of anonymous/stealth public relationship but this tactic is older than the internet.
But you best not use a programmer for doing that sort of duty. It may be an effect of his being here, but I doubt that it is the reason for it.
Everyone is here for $...End of story.
Wrong. In fact the majority of the internet, and a large number of the participants here are not in it for the money. And an even larger percentage are those that do make some money on it, but not as much as if they were working a "real job".
I think Stefan got it just about right.
Does he pay attention to the "secrets" that are being discussed? Of course he is, but he would be doing that whether he participated as a representitive of Google or not.
Think about it, his goal is to have the best search results possible. If a "trick" influences too many of those results in a bad way, then it is his job to counter that trick.
He is not your enemy, but he does have a different set of priorities than you do. Sometimes they are the same as yours, and sometimes they are in opposition to yours.
Actually the definition of Symbiosis pretty much explains the two edged sword:
Literally, "living together". Many cases of symbiosis are mutual, in which both organisms rely on each other for survival. Other types of symbiosis include parasitism, in which one organism benefits at its host's expense, and commensalisms, in which one partner benefits and the other is neither benefitted nor harmed.
[ucmp.berkeley.edu...]
more: define Symbiosis [google.com]
When I do searches outside my niche, only the most obvious spam sites stand out. However, in my niche I see every gamer in the top 20 or so.
The SE's first task, if they are to be successful, is to return quality results, so yes, in that sense they may be using us. Most of what I see GG imply in his posts has to do with directing webmasters to develop sites that will in turn improve the quality of Google SERPs.
I see little harm in that. As others have pointed out, there is a symbiotic relationship.
WBF
Who here isn't trying to rank high for marketing? Who?
Not trying to instigate, just saying we should be honest.
Who here isn't trying to rank high for marketing? Who?
If by "marketing" you mean "make money", I'm not. In fact, my site is on a .edu domain, and my institution's terms of service forbid me from using my site for commercial purposes. It's purely an informational site. My rewards are purely psychic: the ego boost that I get from knowing that at least some other people find my site interesting and useful.
<== Me, for one. And many others as well.
>>I dont see DMOZ in this forum...
You mean specifically in this Google forum, or here at the board? Plenty of DMOZ people post here at the board, and they certainly don't do it for money, they've got nothing to gain by participating.
Some people just get involved in what they're interested in, and some are more community minded and like to communicate. There are always people within organizations who go the second mile and get involved beyond what any "official" requirements are.
They're a breed above the average, the kind that make something special out of the environment in any organization whether it's a company, club, group or otherwise. Beyond business, there's a socialization process that happens and some just participate in that more than others.
[edited by: Marcia at 7:00 am (utc) on Feb. 23, 2004]
SEO's produce unnatural results. Please don't debate that one. And I'm not saying they are bad results. I'm an SEO.
GG back me up if you read this :)
But then I am a tad naive.
Best wishes
Sid
DMOZ is a place for the editors to feel proud of themselves.
Not true at all. The ODP editors are trying to help answer your questions.
Everyone is here for $...
End of story.
Not true again. Many webmasters, like myself do not make a penny from their websites. We are here looking for ideas and to sometimes ask the "experts" when we have a question or problem.
I've ranked in the top ten for almost every page I have, and if it wasn't for WWorld I'm sure that wouldn't be the case.
As for giving away secrets, Brett did that very early on when he posted his "steps to building a successful website". Why would people be so helpful here if they didn't care about other webmasters.
Everyone has their own reasons for being here.
"good for you, good for me"
Assumption:
no webmasters = no web pages = no need for search engines
no search engines = no way to find webpages = no need for webmasters
Deduction:
no webmasters = no search engines
no search engines = no webmasters
Conclusion:
"it takes two to tango"
peace,
Kaz
exactly. I have no doubt that Google Guy loves math or the challenge of providing relevant results, just as I have no doubt that he loves those stock options and salary he gets from Google.
Even he doesn't he works for a company that it's in business to make money. Let's not kid ourselves. By the way, there's nothing wrong anything it, we're all trying to make a living.
But what was the idea to them?
