Search Engine Journal Update – An Exciting Month
Due to numerous happenings at Search Engine Journal over the past month I felt the need to address some of the things going on behind the scenes. July has been a challenge for the Journal, we started off the month being defaced, then offline, then yesterday we ran out of bandwidth with our hosting company. These problems have been attended to and we’re working on updating the site over the next 2 to 3 weeks with more offerings, columnists, and editorials. Additionally, during a story on updates to Yahoo Desktop Search this month I forgot to link to a post I quoted from the Yahoo Search Blog, which led to Jeremy Zawondy totally ripping on me over this, and my alledged “pimping” of Aaron Wall’s SEOBook.
Ain’t no thang Aaron, here’s a new chapter for the book – How to achieve high quality links via being blunders and attacks. Yesterday, as I was in BestBuy waiting for the sales people to finish getting all of the “sales ware” off of my new Gateway Notebook with 60 GB, 15.4″ Widescreen, and Intel Centrino mobile technology, I decided to check out some of my favorite blogs on some of their floor models. I clicked onto Search Engine Journal and was taken back to see an error message that I had exceeded my Bandwidth on the month. Then, after emailing my web host, A Small Orange (who got the site back up pronto due to a billing error) I checked out ThreadWatch to see what was happening in the search world during my shopping spree (a Gateway Notebook may sound like junk to some of you AlienWare using techies out there – yes this means you Jeremy Wright – but to a Maryland farmboy like myself, it’s one fine piece of machinery). And what did I see on TW that caught my eye? Nick posted an entry about SEJ’s bandwidth error message: Hey Loren, put some money in the meter already!
So, bandwidth problems equals a link from ThreadWatch. Not linking to a Yahoo Search Blog entry I quoted equals a link from Jeremy Zawodny’s blog (one of the most respected bloggers in the blogosphere), and being .. uh… defaced… earns me about 100 or so links from around the web. I did not want any of these problems to happen, but again as an example for Aaron (my link biotch), perhaps there is some silver lining to all of this.
Besides problems with the site and linking, I’m happily on my way to Japan tomorrow to relocate for about a year or so. I had lived in Japan 4 years ago in Tanabe, Wakayama (south of Osaka) but now will be moving to Yokohama to experience a more fastpaced lifestyle and concentrate on writing for a while, possibly also picking up a side job teaching English. The big move means I will not be at Search Engine Strategies San Jose or SEO by the SEA in Maryland this August, but will be keeping up on Barry Schwartz’s coverage of SES on Search Engine Roundtable.
So, this means no big West Coast parties, drinks with the Yahoo Search Marketing crew, or attending “PIMP MY SITE” – three events I was really looking forward to. Well, there will always be SES Japan, SES NY, and SES San Jose next year. If anyone reading this is planning a trip to Japan over the next 12 to 18 months, please email me at lorenbake@yahoo.com to set up a time to meet, hangout, interview, get packed in morning metro trains, grab some Freshness Burger, or visit the Tsukiji Fish Market.
