After a day and a half of catching up on all the work that I cannot wave a magic wand at and make magically be done, and a day and a half of trying to decompress, and reflect on a really great conference, I wanted to do a wrap up post about SES London 2008.

I stated before, this was the best SES conference in a long time.  Not necessarily if you are a higher level SEO/SEM/PPC person but generally all around the quality of content, speakers and session seemed to be raised a notch of two.  I’ve met new colleagues, I met people I’ve secretly admired from afar, caught up with old friends, and I even found God at SES London 2007, a pretty amazing feet with all those sock puppets roaming around the conference, too!

There were old panels, spiced up with new presenters.  I have to say, not one panel I attended that I was at before had all the same information as last year.  That would be because our industry has changed so much in the last 8 months.  The openness and willingness to share among speakers to the audience was refreshing, and it didn’t even matter that Google reps were sitting right there in the room.  Everyone knew Adam Lasnik was there and you know what, Adam openly came up and discussed things with people and speakers.

The keynote and round table keynotes were awesome.  Frederick Markini just hit point after point about this industry, and even seemed to disagree with Mike Grehan, but you know what, that’s what made things interesting.  He didn’t actually totally disagree with him, but had a different perspective.  Sometimes we all need to look at things from a different angle, and if anything, that’s what this conference did for a lot of experts in the industry.

If you came there looking to be educated in something all new, being an experienced online marketer, you might have been disappointed.  The show is geared towards a more novice crowd.  However, that being said, being in this industry part time since ‘95 and full time since ‘01, I came away with more than just 1 "golden nugget".  I think the real knowledge for the more experienced marketers comes from going to dinner, and conversing at the bars with our fellow colleagues.  Let me tell you, the chance to converse with Fantomaster and Dirk was worth every minute.

Key Highlights: 

• Fantomaster’s appearance (and he’s not afraid of Google)
• Orion Panel on Web Analytics
• Frederick Marckini’s Keynote
• Panel on Microsoft/Yahoo potential merger
• Sock Puppets
• Linking Strategies Panel
• Social Media Panel
• Local Search Panel
• LondonSEO.org Party

This year’s event was one I’m very glad I got to attend.  If this is just a taste of what SES NYC is going to be, we are in for another great conference.  I just wish God would come to that conference too!

For those of you who saw me with my sheets of paper and book and writing down quotes…. don’t worry that will be coming in the next day or so!  Fun Friday Photo, will be up next… then you all get to hear "outtakes" from SES London 2008.  Till then, check out over 300 pictures from SES London 2008.

With social media marketing becoming a popular way for individuals and companies to increase their online presence, it’s critical for everyone to be aware of the security vulnerabilities that are intrinsic to the public sharing of information in this type of format. US-Cert, the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber-security watchdogs, recently issued warnings for anyone using Internet Explorer in conjunction with Aurigma’s ImageUploader, which is the image uploader that is being used on Facebook and MySpace. The warning was extended to cover Yahoo’s MediaGrid ActiveX control and the Datagrid ActiveX control, among others.

Here’s the issue according to US-Cert: "By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment), a remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user on a vulnerable system."

Apparently no massive public exploitation has taken place YET with these vulnerabilities…but the group is still calling for users to disable their ActiveX controls to make their internet activities safer. These warnings follow ones issued when it was determined that certain Facebook features and MySpace banner ads were laced with malware such as spyware and adware.

With the masses flocking to use social media sites, it’s inevitable that they would arise as a target group. While individuals can easily be affected by malicious programming through a site such as MySpace or Facebook, we also need to consider how this could affect the companies that we, as SEOs, are marketing in this manner…because it’s one thing to accidentally welcome a virus onto your laptop, but it’s quite another to invite one into a company’s internal network. If you’re setting up something like this for a client to use, you might want to do a bit of training on how not to fall into a nasty trap. People tend to feel very secure and insulated when using social media applications, for some reason. It’s like one big family…or so they think. Even people who aren’t savvy internet users can easily sign up and create profiles here, so all it takes is one clueless secretary (or my mother) to bring a major corporate network to its knees, if I may be extreme for a moment.

Obviously this is more of an internet security issue than a simple SEO issue. However, if you’re recommending this type of marketing to a client, it should come with warnings on how to treat it properly. Once security flaws such as the ones in the image uploader are discovered, patches and new versions are quick to come out on the market BUT not everyone updates, and not everyone makes it their mission to find out whether or not their systems are vulnerable. The minute patches and new software versions come out, you can rest assured that someone will find something new to exploit, too.

Let’s look back at the MySpace security issues that came to the public’s attention back in January 2008.
Rigged MySpace profiles contained what appeared to be Microsoft security patches that popped up when a user attempted to view the profile. The unsuspecting users who downloaded this "patch" ended up opening a backdoor that allowed for the downloading of remote control tools, trojans, and more downloaders. If you think this type of thing would never happen to you, consider how many times you’ve accepted a friend request and viewed someone’s profile. If a security alert popped up and you weren’t thinking clearly for whatever reason, you could be in serious trouble. Maybe YOU are smart enough not to do that, but think of the general public…they’re click happy.

Let’s not forget about Twitter either, since it’s quickly becoming a platform used by tons of people who want to keep others informed about their every thought and move. How easy would it be to set up a bogus profile, attract a few thousand followers, and send out a URL that, when clicked on, loads malware onto someone’s system? Pretty easy, most likely. 

So what can you do to keep your social media systems safe? For starters, you can begin to think of your online community in the same way that you think of your offline community. Most likely you don’t tend to open your door to a complete stranger who rings your bell, so treat online "friends" with the same level of suspicion until you’re convinced about their safety level. If you’re using certain social media platforms like Facebook or MySpace, read up on the latest security issues associated with them, and by all means install the updates and patches. If you are recommending this type of marketing to someone else, whether it be a friend or a client, please temper your enthusiastic recommendation with a plea for caution. Common sense is not as common as we’d like to believe, but keep in mind that just because a system is fun and easy to use does not mean that it’s totally safe, ever.

Remember back in January when I asked the question Why Jason Calacanis for a Third Time at SES?  Well it seems that the kind folks at Search Engine Strategies were listening to us Search Marketers.  How is that you wonder?  Well let me explain.

While in London, I had a conversation with some of the people responsible for programming SES.  Kevin Ryan had read that post and asked "What If Search Marketers Could Ask the Questions for Calacanis at SES NYC?"  What a great idea, I thought!

So, Search Marketing Gurus will be the vehicle that will drive most of the questions during the Calacanis keynote.  We will collect the questions here until 8 p.m. EST - 5 p.m. PST on Thursday March 13th.

There is a few stipulations with submitting questions, so please ‘follow the rules’:

1. You cannot ask "Jason why are you such an jerk?" or any other type of questions along those lines.  That means, no "why are you a "*insert any other derogatory comment here*?" type questions, and also no "why do you think SEO is bullshit" questions.

   I know, I know - where’s the fun in that, right?  Well folks, we all know why he is what he is, and why he thinks what he does - he’s said it 3 times before.  That being said, lets get creative with this and really ask some tough questions that might make him show his "true" depth of knowledge of this industry!

   *Why do you think SEO is Bullshit - why do I say, don’t ask that question?  Well that will be asked, we just don’t want 50 questions all coming in asking that same thing!

2. Don’t post your questions in the comments.  Email them to searchmarketinggurus -a-t- gmail DOT com and put in the subject"Calacanis Keynote Question".

   Why?  Well, we don’t want J.C. to be prepared, plain and simple we want this to be a unique experience for both him and the audience.

3. When you email, let us know if you want us to state whom the question is from.

   We want to give credit where credit is due, but of course if you’d rather ask anonymously, we will still consider the question for the keynote.

If Jason Calacanis is going to park his butt on that stage again at another Search Engine Strategies, why should his hour there be cakewalk like it was the past two times, and not to mention the additional hour a week ago at affiliate summit?  Isn’t it time, we as an industry ask this guy some serious questions, instead of letting him slide by with calling our industry "bullshit" and push Mahalo?

* ok, Danny’s got a point - it wasn’t a total cakewalk when Danny had him on stage (but I don’t think Danny expected the F bomb to be dropped nor SEO to be called bullshit).  My point is, is if they want Calacanis on stage, and they are giving us the opportunity, why not hold this man’s feet to the fire a little more?  I know there’s some great questions out there - I’ve heard them in conversations!

Come on, send in your question!  I know there’s quite a few out there, send the on in! 

Remember send the questions into searchmarketinggurus -a-t- gmail DOT com, put in the subject "Calacanis Keynote Question".

This past weekend, I treated myself as well as my sister and my friend to a rather sweet indulgence.  For anyone who grew up loving "hair bands", Bon Jovi was the ultimate hair band.  Now, some 20 years later, the band doesn’t quite have that 80’s hair (most of you probably are saying Thank God!), but they still put on a great show.  As I explain it, Jon Bon Jovi is the only man above 40 legally allowed to wear leather pants in public.

For some reason, I always find myself looking at things from a marketing perspective where ever I go.  I could be in the grocery store, at Cold Stone (shhh!), or even just driving and see a bill board and I get inspired.  Sunday night was no different.  I came home and jotted a few notes down that have turned into this post.

What a Bon Jovi Concert Can Teach You About Online Marketing:

• Get Your Message Heard and Understood
  Is your message coming through, can your audience really hear what you are saying? 

  While we had awesome seats, near the stage, we found it really tough to understand anything that Chris Daughtry (the opening act) was singing, since he didn’t use the same sound system as Bon Jovi.  The three of us knew maybe 2 of his songs from hearing them occasionally on the radio, but felt "lost" because we really couldn’t understand the words to the songs he was singing, since all of his speakers were facing the front, and we were on the side.

  Bon Jovi was a little better, but both acts would have benefited from having another speaker or two facing the crowd that was "behind" the open stage.  Then everyone could have fully enjoyed the songs they sang.

  So, stop and think, is your audience understanding your message?  Is something hindering them from truly understanding what you are trying to relate.  If you have a high bounce rate on your website, you might need to "re-tune" that message so your visitors understand what you are trying to convey.

• Can Everyone See the Show?
  While we had these truly awesome seats (like as almost as close as you could get to Matt Cutts at SMX West),
  and it was an open stage that Jon Bon Jovi did move around, there were
  parts that blocked our view.  The stage lifted up from the back, and
  they had these TV screens that dangled from chains and moved along
  tracks.  Those blocked our view of the show and really frustrated not
  only us, but the fans around us too.  At the time, the screens weren’t
  showing what was going on stage, they were showing some cartoon like
  video, which frustrated us all a little more.

  What I take away
  from that is, can all your visitors see your website?  Have you tested
  it in Firefox, IE, Opera and any other browser out there?  If someone
  is running with images off, can they understand what your images are
  trying to convey?  Can someone who is blind and uses a reader,
  understand what your site is all about?
     
     

• Distractions From the Real Message
  I just mentioned the
  "floating" TV screens that they had at the concert.  At times they
  would show videos or cartoon type videos during the songs.  Between my
  sister and my best friend, we looked at each other and thought "what
  does this have to do with the song".  Finding it rather distracting,
  rather than adding value to the song or show.

  Are there parts of
  your site or even your ad campaign that distract from your real
  message? Do you have annoying images that spin, or music that plays "on
  load"?  Just because you like it, doesn’t mean that your audience
  will.  Run your site through user testing and see how the users react
  to it, are they really "getting" your message, or is all the "Fluff"
  distracting from it?
     
     

• Get the Crowd Involved
  If
  there’s one thing that rock bands to well, it’s getting the crowd
  involved.  Bon Jovi does this extremely well because they have a
  catalog of hits that spans over 25 years.  From "You Give Love a Bad
  Name" to "Who Says You Can’t Go Home", the crowd sings the lyrics on
  queue, does the hand gestures, claps and screams.  There’s no better
  way for a band to know they are relating to the crowd than when a
  stadium of 18,000 people sing back their lyrics to them.

  So how
  do you get your audience involved?  How do you get the feedback you
  need to know if the services you provide are meeting expectations?
  There are a lot of different avenues companies can take to get their
  audiences involved.  From contests to forums, email forms to asking for
  comments on blog, the key is to find what works best for your
  audience.  Are they passionate and fanatical about your products?  Do
  they rave about the service they receive?  Start highlighting your
  client’s responses, thank them for the feedback and heck, even give
  them a coupon for being so honest.  That will get them involved!
     
     

• Using the Familiar to Introduce the New
  When bands go out
  on tour, it’s usually to promote a new album that they have released.
  There’s a lot of new songs on that album that the audience might not
  have heard before, so they might not feel as "comfortable" with the new
  line up of songs.  Bands that have been around a while have a great
  advantage, they can use their older hits to help lead into the new
  music and warm the crowd up to the newer stuff.  Bon Jovi’s "Lost Highway"
  tour has a few songs in their lineup, that unless you’ve listened to
  the album you might not have heard, but they meld it perfectly with
  "Blaze of Glory", "Runaway" and "Have a Nice Day".

  Brands that
  have been around have that kind of leverage too.  New products and
  services are always an expensive venture, even online.  But being able
  to leverage the familiar successes with the new items can help your
  audience warm up to the products or services.  You can also leverage
  that familiar audience, the established one, to attract a new one as
  well.  Don’t throw away the "old" just because of something new,
  leverage it to your advantage.
     
     

• Change is Good!
  "I’ll Be There  For You" (don’t know why I previously had "I Would Die for You" - doh! Thanks Sabina & Jon’s Girl!) is probably one of
  my most favorite songs that Jon Bon Jovi sings.  It’s probably a
  favorite of many women, as well.  I can remember screaming women
  falling at the stage when Jon still sported that long mane of hair.  At
  Sunday night’s concert the scene was a little different.  Of course Jon
  now has shorter hair, he’s a little older and his teeth are a little
  whiter.  That I already knew "changed".  What I wasn’t expecting was a
  change in the lead singer of "I’ll Be There For You".  This time out Bon
  Jovi guitarist, Richie Sambora,
  sang the lead on this song, and you know what - it was great!  It also
  gave Jon Bon Jovi, time to change into this really funky red shirt!
  (hey at least I didn’t drool!)

  Sometimes we’re afraid to change
  what works on our websites or in online marketing plans and
  strategies.  Rock bands are forever re-inventing themselves.  Putting
  new twists on old songs to see if they "work", they experiment
  constantly.  As marketers, especially online marketers, things hardly
  ever stay stagnant, so neither should our online marketing strategies -
  remember change is good!  Take a crack at putting a new twist on an ad
  creative, change the color on a display ad or even add some new content
  to a page, you never know until you try!
     
     

• With Age Comes Experience
  The opening act for Bon Jovi was Chris Daughtry, who came from American Idol fame.
  What was interesting was when Chris came out and did a song with Bon
  Jovi.  There was a definite difference between the singers, but it went
  a lot further than tone, and style.  With experience, singers can learn
  to grade their voices - Jon Bon Jovi does this beautifully.  Chris
  Daughtry still needs a few years to be able to do this properly.  As a
  result, it was like Chris was screaming into the microphone, rather
  than just tempering his voice, and knowing that he didn’t need to be
  "so loud", we really could hear him!

  Online marketing is still a
  very young business.  We are all still learning, but we also learn from
  mistakes we’ve made in the past.  The other places we learn are from
  our past experiences in older media forms.  Some of us have come from
  offline Public Relations, Graphic Arts companies, Madison Avenues
  advertising firms - each and every one of these fields (and more) have
  something to contribute to the learning process of online marketing.
  The wise online marketers knows to tap into those fountains of
  knowledge to help the new strategies succeed.

Sometimes I think it’s fun to take something that is far removed from
the online world and see how I can learn and relate it back to online
marketing.  It certainly gets my brain thinking "outside the box"!  So
now I ask you, is there something that you indulge in that can teach
you even one thing about the job your do?