Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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Panic Over Ebola: Airline Strikes, Banned Flights, Experimental Drugs Posted: 09 Oct 2014 01:45 PM PDT Ebola Epidemic Spreads Panic is in the air in some places over the deadly ebola virus. Is the panic justified? Is there any cure? How deadly is ebola compared to other viruses? How many have died so far? What can be done to stop the spread? Let's take a look at these questions starting with the number of deaths. In Ebola Epidemic Spreads – In Pictures The Guardian reports "The Ebola epidemic has killed more than 3,700 people in west Africa. Dozens of British military personnel are due to fly to Sierra Leone next week to help build medical facilities to combat the epidemic." First US Patient Dies More Fears, More Measures as First Patient Diagnosed in the U.S. Dies Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died Wednesday, 10 days after he was admitted to a Texas hospital. His family wonders if the outcome would have been different if doctors had admitted Duncan to a hospital on September 25, the first time he showed up with a fever and stomach pain. Quarantine Stations, Ebola Questions, and Thermometers At major US airports, Quarantine Stations, Ebola Questions, and Thermometers Coming. Anyone traveling from ebola hotspots in Africa, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, to select US airports will get special screening and have their temperatures. The five airports are: New York's JFK, Washington Dulles, Newark, Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta international airports. Given the virus can incubate for up to 21 days, it is questionable how much good taking temperatures will do. Screening would not have saved the life of Thomas Eric Duncan who did not show any symptoms for days after his arrival. Majority Want Flights Banned From Ebola Countries An NBC survey shows Majority of Americans Want Flights Banned From Ebola Countries. A majority of Americans support banning all flights to the United States from countries experiencing an Ebola outbreak, an exclusive NBC News online survey reveals. The survey, which was conducted by SurveyMonkey and then weighted for age, race, sex, education and region to match U.S. Census data, found that 58 percent of Americans want a ban on incoming flights from West African countries hardest hit by the virus, such as Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Twenty percent of respondents opposed a travel ban, and the rest said they didn't know. La Guardia Airport Cleaners On Strike The Financial Times reports Airline Cabin Cleaners Strike Over Ebola Fears. Up to 200 airline cabin cleaners were expected to strike on Thursday over concerns that they might be exposed to Ebola as US authorities try to contain alarm over the virus. Cabin cleaners who work for Air Serv walked off their shifts at La Guardia airport, according to union representatives, the day after the US said it would step up health screenings of air travellers in the coming days. La Guardia does not receive international flights, but a union official said workers were worried about international travellers arriving at the airport via domestic flights. Elboa Treatment The Financial Times reports Chinese Company Develops Ebola Treatment. One of China's leading generic pharmaceutical companies has purchased the rights to commercialise an experimental drug developed by the Chinese military for treating Ebola, though medical experts said the drug is still at an early stage of development. The new drug is one of 15 or so experimental medicines that have shown some success against the Ebola virus, which has killed nearly 4,000 in west Africa, in laboratories tests with cell cultures and animals around the world. In addition, a dozen vaccines to prevent infection are being evaluated for safety and efficacy. The World Health Organisation is working with international partners to fast-track the most promising treatments into clinical trials in the worst affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, though details of the trial procedures and the pharmaceuticals to be tested are not yet known. "The news that Sihuan is commercialising jk-05 could speed up its timetable to be used in Africa but I still don't think it could be available within six months," said Yang Zhanqiu from the Institute of Medical Virology, School of Medicine, Wuhan University. "China has no live Ebola virus to be researched on and it is forbidden to import live viruses to China for research. What the Chinese scientists are doing is based not on the live virus but on a cloned virus based on the gene sequence available from GenBank (a public database)", he said. George Baeder, an expert on the Chinese pharmaceuticals market, said: "Under typical circumstances, simply getting the drug into clinical trials and through registration – even if fast -racked by CFDA and even if it aims only at Chinese local approval – would normally take a minimum of five years." How Deadly is Ebola? With fear and hype spreading, let's take a step back with a basic question: Just how deadly is the virus, where will the outbreak spread to next – and how can it be stopped? The world is facing an unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola virus, with more than 3,400 deaths so far and an estimated five new cases being reported every hour in Sierra Leone. Infections and potential cases have now been reported as far afield as the Australia, Spain and the US – which this week also suffered its first death. But as the Government resists calls for major British airports to follow the American lead and start screening incoming passengers for the disease, just what are the risks to Britain, West Africa and the rest of the world? Just how deadly is the Ebola virus? The strain of the Ebola virus involved in the current outbreak in West Africa has a mortality rate of 50 per cent – though rates for the outbreaks since 1976 have varied from 20 to 90 per cent. Since then, we have developed strategies of barrier nursing, quarantine, protective equipment and contact tracing – and we know that these are enough to contain outbreaks if they are employed early enough. That's because of the way Ebola is spread. Though highly contagious if it is given the chance to enter the body, it can only do so through the direct transferral of bodily fluids such as vomit, sweat or blood – making it much easier to contain than air-borne viruses like avian flu. The reason the current outbreak has become so vast is simple – it was left unchecked for at least three months before being reported to the World Health Organisation. The fact that it has been allowed to get a major foothold in West Africa – sprouting up in countries without the medical infrastructure to deal with it – is the reason it has become such a deadly prospect there. Dr Edward Wright, a senior lecturer in Medical Microbiology at the University of Westminster who has been working to develop harmless versions of viruses like Ebola for the past 10 years, admits that "we have no experience of dealing with anything like this before". But there is no risk of something similar happening in the UK, Europe, the US or anywhere where systems of isolation and treatment are more established and – now – alert to the danger. Deadliest Viruses But while we can be confident about stopping outbreaks outside West Africa, Dr Wright says the disease has likely got beyond the point where traditional strategies alone can stop the virus in the affected region – and that's where vaccines and drugs come in. Dr Wright is one of a number of scientists around the world working on producing a drug that can provide antibodies to help fight the disease, similar to the ZMapp treatment already being used in a limited number of cases. Ultimately, the only way to stop Ebola cases emerging around the world is to tackle it at source in West Africa. Britain has just sent around 750 soldiers and officials to help bolster the infrastructure required – and Dr Wright says "feet on the ground" is probably the best way we can help tackle the disease right now. Fears Overstated While the disease is serious, the above article suggests risk in the US of a viral spread as happened in Africa is very unlikely. Focus on ZMapp Finally, please consider Experimental Drug Likely Saved Ebola Patients On Thursday, Dr. Kent Brantly thought he was going to die. It was the ninth day since the American missionary worker came down sick with Ebola in Liberia. His condition worsening by the minute, Brantly called his wife to say goodbye. Thankfully, the call was premature. Brantly is back on his feet -- literally -- after receiving a last-ditch, highly experimental drug. [Nancy Writebol] Another American missionary with Ebola got the same. The experimental drug, known as ZMapp, was developed by the biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., which is based in San Diego. The patients were told that the treatment had never been tried before in a human being but had shown promise in small experiments with monkeys. According to company documents, four monkeys infected with Ebola survived after being given the therapy within 24 hours after infection. Two of four other monkeys that started therapy within 48 hours after infection also survived. One monkey that was not treated died within five days of exposure to the virus. Brantly and Writebol were aware of the risk of taking a new, little-understood treatment and gave informed consent, according to two sources familiar with the care of the missionary workers. In the monkeys, the experimental serum had been given within 48 hours of infection. Brantly didn't receive it until he'd been sick for nine days. The Ebola virus causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which refers to a group of viruses that affect multiple organ systems in the body and are often accompanied by bleeding. Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. They later progress to vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function -- and sometimes internal and external bleeding. Brantly asked that Writebol be given the first dose because he was younger and he thought he had a better chance of fighting it, and she agreed. However, as the first vial was still thawing, Brantly's condition took a sudden turn for the worse. Brantly began to deteriorate and developed labored breathing. He told his doctors he thought he was dying, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the situation. Knowing his dose was still frozen, Brantly asked if he could have Writebol's now-thawed medication. It was brought to his room and administered through an IV. Within an hour of receiving the medication, Brantly's condition dramatically improved. He began breathing easier; the rash over his trunk faded away. One of his doctors described the events as "miraculous." By the next morning, Brantly was able to take a shower on his own before getting on a specially designed Gulfstream air ambulance jet to be evacuated to the United States. Writebol also received a vial of the medication. Her response was not as remarkable, according to sources familiar with the treatment. However, doctors on Sunday administered Writebol a second dose of the medication, which resulted in significant improvement. Good Enough For me The above results are good enough for me. This is not a case where someone might take a drug and die from it. This is a case if nothing is done, the patient will die. Nonetheless, World Health Organization spokesman Gregory Hartl cautioned that health authorities "cannot start using untested drugs in the middle of an outbreak, for various reasons." "As doctors, trying an untested drug on patients is a very difficult choice since our first priority is to do no harm, and we would not be sure that the experimental treatment would do more harm than good." That view, while arguably reasonable in some cases, seems preposterous in the case at hand, especially given the success rate in monkeys. Ultimately there must be human trials. What better tests can there actually be than from willing participants who are on the deathbed? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Police State USA: Civil Forfeiture Under Presumption of Guilt Posted: 09 Oct 2014 11:17 AM PDT Where in the world can police confiscate your money and your property, not charge you with any crime, then tell you there is absolutely nothing you can do about it? The answer, which you may not have known (but might have guessed from the title), is none other than the USA, where people mistakenly presume the law says innocent until proven guilty. Legalized Robbery In a report called Stop and Seize, the Washington Post details how aggressive police take hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists not charged with crimes. The Washington Post noted there have been 61,998 cash seizures made on highways and elsewhere since 9/11 without search warrants or indictments. Law enforcement agencies confiscated more than $2.5 billion. Half of the seizures were below $8,800. Here are a few examples. A 55-year-old Chinese American restaurateur from Georgia was pulled over for minor speeding on Interstate 10 in Alabama and detained for nearly two hours. He was carrying $75,000 raised from relatives to buy a Chinese restaurant in Lake Charles, La. He got back his money 10 months later but only after spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer and losing out on the restaurant deal. A 40-year-old Hispanic carpenter from New Jersey was stopped on Interstate 95 in Virginia for having tinted windows. Police said he appeared nervous and consented to a search. They took $18,000 that he said was meant to buy a used car. He had to hire a lawyer to get back his money. Mandrel Stuart, a 35-year-old African American owner of a small barbecue restaurant in Staunton, Va., was stunned when police took $17,550 from him during a stop in 2012 for a minor traffic infraction on Interstate 66 in Fairfax. He rejected a settlement with the government for half of his money and demanded a jury trial. He eventually got his money back but lost his business because he didn't have the cash to pay his overhead. John Oliver on Civil Forfeiture The above examples are outrageous, but the following one detailed by John Oliver is far worse. Matt Lee, from Lake Station, Michigan was driving to California with $2,400 in cash his dad lent him to start a new business. In a routine traffic ticket pullover, police asked Lee if he was carrying any money. Lee told the police he had $2,400 from his dad and the police promptly confiscated the money. The police officer told Lee "I have concluded my investigation and am keeping the money because you are traveling to California to buy drugs." It is incredible to believe someone would travel all the way from Michigan to California to buy a mere $2,400 in drugs. Yet, that was the conclusion of the officer. It is amazing, and scary, that this happens in the US. But it happens all the time. "Everyday I do this. It's all I do for a living. It's drug interdiction and I get money," said the Nevada police officer. Let's describe Civil Forfeiture as it really is: Police State USA in which police act as judge and jury, with a presumption of guilt, and steal what they want for their own benefit. Traveling to the USA?  CBC news in Canada explicitly advises of the American shakedown: Police won't charge you, but they'll grab your money. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

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Damn Cool Pics

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• Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Gambling
• 50 Fictional Places You Can Actually Visit [Infographic]
• Jennifer Lawrence Talks About Her Leaked Nude Photos
• The Worst Prisons In The World

Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Gambling Posted: 09 Oct 2014 06:07 PM PDT Everyone loves gambling. You step up to a table with a little bit of money and high hopes that it becomes a lot of money. You can't get lucky every single time but you might be able to help your odds by remembering some of these fun facts about gambling.

50 Fictional Places You Can Actually Visit [Infographic] Posted: 09 Oct 2014 05:36 PM PDT UK flight search website Just the Flight has created a fun infographic that shows you 50 fictional places you can actually visit. From the peaceful Hobbit village of Shire in the Lord of the Rings to the town of Springfield in The Simpsons, the infographic reveals the real-life locations that inspired the settings in books, films and television shows. Click on Image to Enlarge.

Jennifer Lawrence Talks About Her Leaked Nude Photos Posted: 09 Oct 2014 05:25 PM PDT The leaked nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence have started the Fappening craze. First time since then Jennifer talks about the stolen icloud photos.

The Worst Prisons In The World Posted: 09 Oct 2014 02:56 PM PDT Prison sounds pretty terrible in general but if you've got to serve time, it's going to be a whole lot worse if you're doing it in one of these prisons.

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SEO Teaching: Should SEO Be Taught at Universities?

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SEO Teaching: Should SEO Be Taught at Universities? Posted: 08 Oct 2014 05:08 PM PDT Posted by Carla_Dawson This post was originally in YouMoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of Moz, Inc. SEO is a concept that has been around for years and some universities have incorporated it into the curricula. A while back, I posted this question on Moz and noticed some very strong opinions on the idea that SEO should be part of formal education. Search Engine Journal also posted an article on the idea that SEO should not be taught in universities. We (I co-wrote this post with Aleksej Heinze, who also currently teaches SEO) obviously believe SEO should be taught in higher education and got together to discuss how it benefits the SEO industry and how SEO can be incorporated in higher education. Aleksej teaches SEO in the U.K.; I teach SEO in Argentina. Before I get started with the pros and cons, I want to share with you some opinions from people in industry on the topic of SEO in universities. Wil Reynolds (Founder - Seer Interactive) 1. Do you believe universities or higher education institutions should equip students with the skills to meet industry needs? Yes, people take BIG loans to go to the university in the U.S.; we should at least make sure when they graduate they have the skills that are in...demand in the workplace. 2. Are SEO skills something you believe are lacking in industry? Not sure. "SEO skills" is a broad phrase. 3. Do you think teaching SEO in universities gives credibility to the profession? Not really, I think the profession has credibility. Teaching SEO in universities gives a student a great platform to learn and to be prepared for one of the industries that is in desperate need of talent. 4. Do you think teaching SEO in universities benefits the industry? Yes, but I think SEO is too narrow, according to many definitions. If you think about it, SEO is as much about technical as it is about link building [or] keyword research. To teach the broad definition of SEO you'd need a pretty multi-disciplinary group to teach it. Maybe we'd just teach it as part of a digital marketing rotation. Stephen Lock (Head of Content & Inbound Marketing, Linkdex.com) 1. Do you believe universities or higher education institutions should equip students with the skills to meet industry needs? Yes, it makes sense that universities, where appropriate, offer courses that are based heavily on industry demands, especially if the course/institution has been marketed as...tailored for employers. 2. Are SEO skills something you believe are lacking in industry? They definitely are. There is a real shortage, and due to the fast-moving nature of the field, knowledge is quickly outdated, meaning even experienced practitioners aren't always great candidates. 3. Do you think teaching SEO in universities gives credibility to the profession? I believe it does, although it is one of those fields where it's common for people to...come from a broad range of backgrounds. The skills required are so diverse that it's also understandable that people who have studied one field can adapt. From experience, employers are more interested in the person, their attitude and capacity to learn. However, SEO in universities can only be a good thing for the industry. 4. Do you think teaching SEO in universities benefits the industry? Teaching SEO, I believe, would benefit the industry, as the skills shortage is so acute and it is so common for entry-level candidates to come from many different backgrounds. My final thoughts are that SEO is so broad as a discipline that calling it just SEO may not do it justice. What we can see from these and other opinions we received for this article is views are still mixed since SEO education is not clearly defined. Where do you start with a subject area that touches such a broad range of disciplines, including technical, content and engagement? However, the vast majority of our respondents were positive about the need to integrate SEO in higher education! Pros to teaching SEO in universities Eli Overbey wrote a great article on this topic here, but me and Aleksej took some of the ideas one step further. Basically, we identified problems in industry and how teaching SEO in universities might help the industry. How teaching SEO in universities may benefit the industry Industry Problem How SEO in higher education might alive the problem? Long sales cycles - Selling SEO is a lot about educating your potential client. Today's student is tomorrow's potential client. Students who learn SEO formally (and not just on the job) are likely to have a broader understanding of its benefits, and therefore, be able to "sell" it more effectively to clients. Lack of Credibility - Most SEOs learned SEO on the job, or through reading great books like "The Art of SEO" and reading great articles on the internet. However, few formal institutions recognize it as a valid marketing technique. SEO is not taught in many marketing related programs. Creating an educational standard for SEO increases the credibility of the field. Treating the discipline as if it was law, engineering, etc., would elevate SEO to a discipline seen as requiring a significant period of study before it can be practiced. Everyone says they know SEO. Without a recognized standard for the field of SEO, anyone and everyone can say they know SEO. Clients with bad experiences don't trust SEO companies. Showing clients you have a certified person on your team may alleviate this situation. Long recruiting cycles. Recruiters currently have to give SEO tests to verify that the job candidate in front of them really knows SEO. A certification or a degree does not guarantee you know the subject (this is true for lots of fields), but it is an excellent filter and a great starting point. SEO is constantly changing, making it hard to keep up. Law, medicine and most other subject areas are also constantly changing, and content and concepts are updated accordingly. The same can be true for SEO in universities. Clients challenge your techniques (ex. "Why don't you use the keyword meta tag?" or "Why are you using parallax scrolling when it is not SEO-friendly?")  This happens in all industries and being able to reference an independent institution and a high-quality article will probably reduce discussion time. There is a high demand for SEO skills. Below you will find articles that mention demand for SEO skills in industry. Universities are in the business of creating professionals and satisfying workforce demands.Higher education institutions are often criticized for their lack of relevant educational courses that will equip students with the skills to meet specific industry needs. SEO is relevant today and will be well into the foreseeable future. Cons to teaching SEO in universities We do see some negatives to teaching SEO in universities, but we see them more as issues to be mitigated. John Weber did a great job identifying the difficulties in teaching SEO in his article on searchenginejournal.com. We agree with several of the points in this article. However, we see them more as issues that can be alleviated through great program development. Obstacles  Potential Solutions Google makes changes to its algorithm constantly. This exact topic should be brought up in the classroom. Students get that what they learn in school is somewhat "academic" and may be slightly out-of-date, but is still useful. (On a side note, laws change all the time, yet law is taught in school.)  SEO is complex. It requires analytical and creative skills. Case studies are a great way to teach complex concepts and creativity. Law, perhaps, is similar to SEO in that it requires analytical and creative skills to be successful, and it is taught in universities. No one absolutely knows "the magic formula." This exact topic should be brought up in the classroom. This is true with many professions. Medicine is not an exact science and continuously evolves. Physicians often prescribe differing treatments for the same diagnosis.  Current flaws in academia We also see lots of flaws within the academic world regarding SEO, specifically the fact that if the subject is taught, it is mostly taught as an extension (vocational) course or optional part of an MBA program. Here are some universities that offer SEO: University of California San Diego, U.S - taught as an extension course City University London, U.K. - taught within a digital marketing program Georgetown University, U.S. - taught as a course within a public relations and communications program University of Salford, U.K. - taught as an extension course as part of BSc Business Information Technology, MSc Marketing and the Salford MBA course Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Argentina - taught as a course within a digital marketing program Universidad Blas Pascal, Argentina - taught as a course within a digital marketing program Universidad Siglo 21, Argentina - taught as a course within a digital communications and social media program and as a online course University of Sydney, Australia - taught as a course within a Joomla Framework We feel SEO should be included as part of many other degree programs. Please note that mentioning the concept and explaining it is not the same as teaching how to do SEO. In some cases, the concept should be mentioned and included, and in other cases, SEO should be fully taught. For example at Salford Business School, students are expected to plan, execute and evaluate live SEO campaigns and report on their results. This kind of SEO learning helps in job interviews where students can show their own artefacts and discuss what they have done and learned from their practical SEO experience.The academic world has not incorporated the subject in a holistic manner. How could SEO be incorporated into higher education? Degree focus SEO Concept (not to be confused with course) to be incorporated in program Comments Master of Business Administration (MBA) How to use SEO as a business strategy for long term sustainability of business? Not many MBA courses recognize SEO as a strategic tool for developing value for their business. Hence a number of businesses are missing growth opportunities in the online world. Advertising How to use SEO with viral marketing and word of mouth as an advertising technique? Is Inbound Marketing an advertising technique? Television ads are no longer as effective as those created for YouTube with viral sharing in mind. Web design/ computer science Designing for Search Engines - Is SEO part of web design? SEO is not taught in many web design or computer science schools. This has major issues/benefits for agencies that try to turn a non-SEO-friendly website into one that can be crawled by search engines. Marketing Organic search engine results are an important marketing channel, and this concept does not have visibility in the educational system. Many marketing programs talk about SEO as if it is something that's useful to someone else. We are all individual brands who can learn and use SEO (e.g., integration of keyword research allows for better digital consumer profiling and learning about the digital personas to be engaged with in marketing mix). Public Relations (PR) Synergies of online PR with content development strategies and long-term link building Many PR ignore the benefits of SEO and miss out on the mutual benefits that an integration of SEO and online PR could provide.  Journalism Writing text for online readability and scanability (e.g., using headings, bullet points, etc.) Many journalism courses are still based on great headlines and catchy first paragraph, but these are great techniques when combined with SEO, too. Not thinking about the online audience means you miss a lot of reach with articles that are "thrown" onto the web without much consideration. We argue for wider adoption of SEO at university teaching because of these three reasons: Shaping the SEO industry Starting with understanding SEO principles at the university-level, we are shaping the digital marketing professionals of the future. Recognizing the growing range of opportunities that digital marketing creates as a consequence of good SEO practices offers an invitation to the industry for new talent. Offering SEO at universities will not stop cowboy SEO practices, but at least it will reduce the use of such practices out of incompetence. SEO is no longer a "dark art" By demystifying the process of SEO, companies will be more likely to employ SEO professionals by recognizing and better appreciating the value they create. SEO is no longer perceived as a "black box" or "dark art" and individuals who might be supervising others will be more able to expect higher standards and discern whether someone is using unwelcome practices. Good SEO practices will make our industry sustainable By integrating SEO into wider advertising, digital marketing, journalism, web design, PR and MBA courses, we are able to create a better long-term future for SEO as a profession. Having SEO skills applies to many disciplines, and business would be prepared to pay for these skills as soon as they recognise the return on investment that good SEO can create. By teaching SEO in higher education, SEO will appear more professional, which will lead to long-term sustainability. Is there demand in the industry for SEO skills? Universities have often been criticized for offering courses not relevant to industry needs. Students invest in higher education to broaden their horizons, but also to obtain skills that equip them better for their chosen profession. The underlying principle is that universities have to offer "universal knowledge and skills" to improve innovation and skills of the world we live in. So if an industry demands SEO skills, then perhaps it is time for higher education to respond? Here are some articles that show workforce demand related to SEO.  2012 - Conductor - Demand for SEO Professionals Has Never Been Greater [Study] 2013 - Bruce Clay - Studies Reveal SEO Analysts are in High Demand 2013 - Search Engine Land - SEO Talent In High Demand — How To Hire An SEO Here are some great stats from the articles above. Studies show a 112 percent year-over-year increase in demand for SEO professionals, with salaries as high as $94,000, as reported by Conductor, an SEO technology company based in New York. Search Engine Land surveyed the SEO industry and found that 93 percent of respondents expected their SEO business to grow by the end of 2013. It makes sense, then, that 82 percent of respondents also reported plans to hire additional SEO staff this year. Digital Journal proclaimed "there is no doubt that a career in an SEO agency as an SEO professional can be an exciting and rewarding one. Stress levels would match the lows found in other online positions, while the employment opportunities in such a fast growing business are obvious … Mid-level strategist and management roles can earn from $60,000, while senior marketing directors can expect to approach six-figure sums." First-hand experience - Aleksej Heinze Salford Business School is currently leading a European project, a Joint European Masters in Digital and Social Media Marketing ( JEMSS). This project aims to develop the digital marketeers of the future. JEMSS is a partnership between five European Universities and two commercial organizations, one of which is a digital marketing recruitment agency based in Manchester, the UK. As part of this project, an extensive consultation with digital agencies and in-house teams has been conducted across five European countries. This multi-stage research project started with a brainstorming session that included ten UK-based agencies in December 2013. They were looking at the top 10 digital marketing skills for international business. The key skill identified as part of this focus group was Search Engine Optimization. The views from the UK-based agencies were also inline with the online survey results from students and potential students regarding digital marketing courses. The list of 25 skills was developed through the initial focus group with industry practitioners. We can clearly see that SEO tops the table of skills needed when developing knowledge and skills in the area of digital marketing. This online survey was completed by 712 respondents across several countries. We were interested to look at five countries taking part in the JEMSS project: Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Poland and the UK. At least 50 respondents for each of these counties were collected to have a representative sample group. Do people want to learn SEO? Looking at the generic searches related to learning SEO/SEO courses in various parts of the world we see some interesting trends: This Google Trends screenshot shows some of the main terms related to the popularity of SEO courses. We can see there is a major difference between "SEO training" and "SEO courses." This can mean most people are seeing SEO as a vocational skill and not an academic course. It is also interesting to note that the location for those interested in "SEO courses" tends to be in India, the U.K. and the U.S. More research should be done in to identify additional hot spots throughout the world. First hand experience - Carla Dawson My students are eager to learn about SEO. Many of them make comments like "Carla, we have been waiting for this class" or "This is the best class [in the] program." In the SEO class, I notice that students pay closer attention than they do in other classes. Multiple requests have been made by my students to "offer a second course or a seminar" so they can learn more about SEO. It almost seems as if the SEO course has more value than some of the other courses. In class, I get questions like "where can we learn more about SEO?" "What sources are reliable?" etc. Conclusion Long gone are the days gone where universities were run by nuns and monks and the main courses included Latin, metaphysics and theology. Most universities are becoming businesses that develop educational products, research and sell them. If you believe that universities or higher education institutions should equip students with the skills to meet specific industry needs, then perhaps SEO or better yet "Search Marketing" is ideal for universities? SEO touches so many fields and in our opinion it should be incorporated in various degrees not just offered as an extension course. We would love to hear the communities opinion on this topic so please comment below! This article was co-authored with Aleksej Heinze from the University of Salford Manchester . You can find more information about Aleksej here. Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

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Seth's Blog : Four steps on the road to organizational growth, dominance or irrelevance

 

Four steps on the road to organizational growth, dominance or irrelevance

We see the same four steps, over and over:

Struggle: At the beginning, no one knows what you make or why they need it. They are unaware and distrustful too. Sometimes the struggle never ends, other times the story is so compelling and the value created so in demand that it appears to go by quickly. But the struggle is always there. Most marketing  (as opposed to advertising) lives in this stage, because you're starting from zero.

Servant: As a soon-to-be-successful organization gains traction, it has a choice. It can move to servant mode, delighting and connecting customers, exceeding expectations and performing what seems like miracles. Or it can take profits as soon as it can. The former leads to scale, the short-term approach usually results in more struggle.

Bully: As the organization gains power (and constituents) it is under pressure to increase profits and market share and lock in. The market power leads to more market power and the ability to cause customers or partners to shift their strategy in deference. (To be clear, I define a bully as an individual or organization that uses physical or other power to cause someone less powerful to act against their enlightened long-term self interest to satisfy their demands.) "We make the rules now."

Utility: No organization stays in bully mode forever. The step after this is utility, the organization that serves a function, makes a profit, and is often taken for granted.

Bitcoin is still in the struggle stage. Microsoft clearly went through all four of these stages a decade ago. Federal Express skipped the bully step, as far as I can tell, and moved straight to utility. AT&T also followed the four steps. So did Standard Oil. Religions that last more than a few generations go through these steps too. During their hyper-growth period, AOL had the chance to become a generations-long utility, but probably worked too hard to exercise their power to gain scale before moving to the utility stage. 

While the easy examples to find are the famous, international ones, this can happen on the micro level, within industries or locations or sects as well.

I'd like to believe that the goal is to figure out how to live a life in the servant stage, to create an organization that doesn't become a bureaucratic haven or an avarice-focused engine of profit. As markets shift faster (networks grow faster now than ever before in human history) there's more opportunity to find a sweet spot that dances between servant and utility.

       

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