marți, 11 septembrie 2012

Damn Cool Pics

Damn Cool Pics


Cute Dancing Kittens Chorus [Video]

Posted: 11 Sep 2012 04:58 PM PDT



Because nothing's cuter than five adorable kittens, except for five adorable kittens doing synchronized choreography.


South African Couple Keep Cheetah as a Pet

Posted: 11 Sep 2012 03:10 PM PDT

The pet cheetah Jolie lives at the house of Magda and Japie Pienaar in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The family bought the animal at the auction four years ago. Jolie enjoys snacks from the fridge, plays with local cats and dogs, and her best friend is a German Shepherd called Franky.












































Via: dailymail


50 Worst Jobs Ever

Posted: 11 Sep 2012 12:18 PM PDT

Take a look at some of the very worst jobs that a person could do to earn a living.

We want to know what the absolute worst job is. Vote!





































































































Fan Wraps Ford Truck In Star Wars Graphics

Posted: 11 Sep 2012 11:19 AM PDT

A Wal-Mart Assistant manager from Iowa turned his Ford Raptor truck into a huge rolling Sith transport meant to praise the Galactic Empire with every bit of its vinyl wrapping. It has Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, a nice Imperial symbol, Han Solo in Carbonite, a Facebook group, and red undercarriage lighting that makes it look extra evil.






















































































Via: Facebook


The Anatomy Of A CEO [Infographic]

Posted: 11 Sep 2012 08:37 AM PDT

What makes a CEO tick? Are they born, are they made, or is it a mixture of both? Below we explore what traits chief executives have in common, what experience they share, and how their failures often lead to their success.


Via: CEO


Marking the Eleventh Anniversary of 9/11

The White House Your Daily Snapshot for
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
 
Marking the Eleventh Anniversary of 9/11

Today, President Obama and the First Lady marked the eleventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

They began the day at the White House, observing a moment of silence on the South Lawn just after 8:45 a.m., around the time the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. Afterward, they traveled to the Pentagon, where the President spoke at a memorial service in honor of those who died there, as well as in New York and Pennsylvania.

Vice President Biden marked the anniversary by traveling to Shanksville, PA, where he delivered remarks at the Flight 93 National Memorial Commemorative Service to honor the passengers and crew who died there 11 years ago today.

Read more about the September 11 anniversary observation.



In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:

From the Archives: September 11, a Day of Service and Remembrance
We mark the National Day of Service and Remembrance, with a look back at the First Family, sometimes joined by White House guests, serving others.

FAA Commemorates 9/11 with NextGen arrival profiles into National Airport
The U.S. Department of Transportation commemorates September 11, as the FAA's Washington Metroplex Team names two arrival sequences to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to honor those who died that day and those who served our country from that day forward.
 
Paying Tribute with Service
You can sign up for a service opportunity marking September 11 at Serve.gov.

Today's Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

8:45 AM: The President and the First Lady observe a moment of silence to mark the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks WhiteHouse.gov/live

9:10 AM: The President and the First Lady depart from the White House to the Pentagon Memorial

9:30 AM: The President and the First Lady attend September 11 Observance Ceremony WhiteHouse.gov/live

11:30 AM: The President and the First Lady return to the White House

1:55 PM: The President arrives Bethesda, Maryland

2:15 PM: The President visits the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

4:40 PM: The President departs Bethesda, Maryland en route the White House

4:50 PM: The President arrives at the White House

5:00 PM: The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of Defense

WhiteHouse.gov/live Indicates that the event will be live-streamed on WhiteHouse.gov/Live

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Are Exact-Match Domains (EMDs) in Decline?

Are Exact-Match Domains (EMDs) in Decline?


Are Exact-Match Domains (EMDs) in Decline?

Posted: 10 Sep 2012 07:59 PM PDT

Posted by Dr. Pete

One of the great, ongoing debates of SEO (#4 of 673) is the influence of Exact-Match Domains (EMDs) on rankings. Part of my goal in launching MozCast was to collect historical data that would allow us to put some of these contentious questions to the test, and now that we have a few months of data, I thought it would be interesting to dig into the EMD question.

Over the last couple of years, our large-scale correlation data here at SEOmoz has shown a declining impact of EMDs on ranking:

.Com EMD Correlation to Ranking

This graph is based only on .com domains and, as always, correlation does not imply causation, but the trend certainly suggests that EMDs are weakening. The MozCast data only goes back to April 2012 currently, but that timeframe covers the Penguin update and other major changes this year, so let’s see how it compares to the year-over-year trend.

Overall EMD Influence

Let’s start simple – across the MozCast data set (Top 10 X 1,000 keywords = 10K* URLs), what percentage of rankings are held by EMDs? In this case, I stuck to a very strict definition: if the keyword is “buy widgets”, then only “buywidgets.tld” (any TLD) counts as an exact match. Here’s the data back to April 4, 2012:

EMD Influence

First off, notice that this is a pretty narrow range – over 4-1/2 months, EMDs represent from just under 3.3% to almost 4.1% of total rankings in the data set. On average, EMD influence has declined slightly in the past few months, with a solid drop after the Penguin update, but that drop has recovered somewhat since June.

*Now that 7-result SERPs account for ~18% of the data, the total count is closer to 9,500 URLs.

Correlation vs. Causation

Let’s get this out of the way – just because EMDs hold less spots in the top 10, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Google has turned down the “volume” on EMDs as a ranking factor. It simply means that less EMDs are ranking overall, and that could have many explanations. What we’ll be looking at here is patterns over time, to try to tell more of the story.

Penguilation vs. Penguisation

Likewise, Penguin correlation is not Penguin causation. I don’t think that Penguin directly targeted EMDs. I suspect that, by targeting some forms of spammy anchor text, Penguin disproportionately hit EMDs. Many people who use EMDs solely for ranking purposes are also aggressive with exact-match anchor text. The EMD drop was probably collateral damage.

EMD Influence on Ranking #1

The last graph covered EMDs anywhere in the Top 10, but what about the EMDs just occupying the #1 spot? Have they fallen harder than overall EMDs? Here’s the data on #1 ranking EMDs only:

EMD Influence on #1

Again, the Y-axis is scaled to amplify differences. While EMDs in the #1 spot also took a hit after Penguin, the picture looks very different around mid-June. EMDs ranking #1 not only recovered their previous influence, but they’ve actually gained SERP-share over the past couple of months. Some of the August spike may be related to the launch of the 7-result SERPs. If the number of total URLs decreased, but the EMDs in #1 remained constant, those EMDs would account for a higher percentage of total URLs.

Overall PMD Influence

My definition of an EMD was pretty strict. What if we looked at the data for partial-match domains (PMDs)? I took a more liberal approach here – for the keyword phrase “buy widgets”, any of the following counted as a partial match, by my definition:

  • buywidgetshere.com
  • webuywidgets.com
  • buywidgets.example.com
  • www.buy-widgets.com

In other words, as long as “buywidgets” or “buy-widgets” appeared anywhere in the root or sub-domain, I counted it as a partial match. I excluded all exact matches, to separate the influence. Here’s the data back to April 4th:

PMD Influence

PMDs accounted for slightly more of the mix than EMDs (not surprisingly), but here the pattern is much clearer. Ranking for PMDs suffered a serious decline after the Penguin update and has only continued to fall.

Good EMDs Are Good

Not all exact-match and partial-match domains are created equal. Penguin hit both EMDs and PMDs pretty hard, because too many people were (and are) still over-relying on them for ranking. The problem is that Google can’t just pull the plug on EMDs. Many brands naturally use EMDs, and it’s perfectly reasonable to buy a domain that matches your name. Instead of just changing how domains impact ranking, Google is targeting spammy signals around EMDs and PMDs. For example, Penguin probably targeted aggressive exact-match anchor text. If your website is “casinoviagrarealestate.com” and 90% of your anchor text is “best casino viagra real estate”, you probably took a hit. It wasn’t because you had an EMD – it was because your EMD was part of a low-value approach.

Should You Dump Your EMD?

In a word: No. You should be careful about combining obviously keyword targeted EMDs and PMDs (“buy-casino-viagra-mortgage.me”) with other aggressive tactics, like large amounts of exact-match anchor text, but for the most part you aren’t going to get penalized simply because you have an EMD. There are some extreme Penguin cases where something as drastic as a new domain may be required, but for the most part this is a gradual change in Google’s attitude. I think EMDs are going to count less over time, but EMDs are also a natural part of the ecosystem.

Should You Buy an EMD?

That’s a bit tougher question. If you’re a brand with a unique name, then yes, absolutely, buy yourname. com, etc. If you’re simply using a domain for keyword value, then I think you have to be a little careful and consider your long-term game plan. If you over-rely on that EMD or PMD, you’re likely to pursue other spammy tactics and ultimately be disappointed as Google gradually lowers the volume. I don’t think buying an EMD carries a large amount of risk, but I’d considering your overall branding strategy. An EMD might be an SEO tactic, but it’s just one small factor of many – it’s not a strategy. You also have to weigh the costs and benefits - finding a short, unregistered .com is one thing - buy it and you can decide later how and if to use it.

As for clearly low-value PMDs, like long, hyphenated strings, I’d avoid them. Paying $25K for a hyphenated, seven-word .net is just throwing away money that could be spent on real marketing. It’s not just about declining SEO value – it’s also a matter of perception. If I see six-keywords-strung-together-with-dashes.net and it leads to a slapped together, $75 template site, I see a site I’d never do business with. The tiny uptick in SEO value you might get isn’t worth it. Invest in a brand and start building it. The benefits will go far beyond SEO.


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Seth's Blog : Memory and media

Memory and media

Not too many millenia ago, just about everything we remembered happened to us. In real life.

Books and then radio and TV changed that. Orson Welles demonstrated that a radio drama could create feelings (and then memories of those feelings) that were as powerful to some as the real thing.

Eleven years ago, we all experienced an event of such enormity that it still haunts us. Some escaped, some saw it out their office window while others watched on TV.

Just a decade later, we're far more likely to both celebrate and generate our memories in 140 character bursts, or in short updates or in a 'breaking news' email. The short version amplifies our other memories. Neil Armstrong's death shook us not because we knew him, but because we remember watching him on TV... The blip of information alone was sufficient to give us pause.

A few generations ago, the only music most people heard was music we heard in person. Today, the most famous (and in some ways, important) people in our lives are people we will never meet.

As we continually replace real life with ever shorter digital updates, what happens to the memories we build for ourselves and the people we serve? More and more, we don't remember what actually happened to us, but what we've encountered digitally. It scales, but does it matter in the same way?



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