Central Perk

miercuri, 27 aprilie 2011

Photos & Videos: The 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll

Your Daily Snapshot for
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Photos & Videos: The 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll

On Monday, 30,000 people joined the First Family on the South Lawn for the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll. With spring in the air and sunny weather to enjoy, the event was highlighted by fun games, healthy activites, and amazing performances. Check out videos and photos from the event here.

President Barack Obama cheers on kids taking part in the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, April 25, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

SEOptimise

40 Paid Links Resources

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 05:41 AM PDT

In late 2007 Google officially announced that so-called paid links are outside its webmaster guidelines, and asked webmasters to report paid links they find on the Web via a special form. Fast forward to 2011 and you’d expect that paid links are long gone, like stuffing meta keyword tags or inflating keyword density on page. They aren’t.

There is even a surge of interest in buying links after many large brands have been caught using this technique successfully to manipulate Google’s algorithm for months.

These large brands are not alone; indeed, even Google itself has been sponsoring sites that link to it without using the nofollow attribute required by the Google webmaster guidelines. So it’s no wonder that in this world where some people are more equal than others, many webmasters resort to buying links from text link brokers who are still more or less openly selling them.

Personally I was both buying and selling links prior to the 2007 announcement and let it go when it became apparent that it’s not a white hat SEO tactic. I may have been a little naive back then, but I assumed that links to advertisers you approve of are like editorial links; after all, you agree willingly to link to sites you have checked before. Google doesn’t think so though, as this way just the sites with the richest owners would succeeded in Google.

I can smell paid links from afar, while many webmasters fail to notice them even on their own sites.

Many people do not even know of the nofollow attribute, or that you have to use it on your ads. Others can seemingly get away with it because they are too huge to get penalised or have enough real links. Nonetheless, some large and renowned sites have been penalised for paid links in 2011 already.

Sometimes it depends on the amount of bad press. If you manage to make the New York Times aware of a large brand that buys or sells links, you might force Google to take action.

In the above mentioned example, where Google itself appears to buy links among dozens of others, nobody even cared about it. So apparently, depending on who you are and how you do it, paid links can work for you. Ironically, even those companies that have been caught and got penalised for paid links did get so many editorial links from the press and the blogosphere after getting busted that they probably don’t need to buy links anymore anyway.

In some countries or industries, paid links are so widespread that you’ll get outranked without them.

On the other hand, it’s a risky technique which you don’t have to use in most cases, or better still you can mimic its effects without breaking the rules. The best example of an exception has been paid directories. Sponsoring events seems to be another exception, as in the example cited above where Google has utilised sponsored links itself.

Definitions

The paid links definition seems to be quite straightforward and easy to grasp, but when you think about it for a while you’ll notice that it’s far less obvious in many situations. Also, sometimes the paid link definition is not enough. What about paid content, for example? Last but not least, paid links are OK when they are used for PPC.

Analysis

So while it seems that the paid links definition itself is not so obvious, the question of whether you buy links or not is a bit more complex. Search marketers have dealt with it for a few years now, and there is still a lot of disagreement in the SEO industry about paid links. The voices in favour of paid links seem to be outnumbered, but that’s just in public.

When it comes to the actual SEO practice my impression is that it’s rather the other way around. Most people don’t admit it, but they are doing paid links. Until Google finds a way to detect ”link intent”, we will have have to deal with this issue.

To even understand both positions you need to take a closer look at what’s at stake when it comes to paid links. Some deeper analysis has been done by some search bloggers.

Opinion

The pros and cons of using paid links as an SEO tactic are evident you’d think but there is even disagreement in the industry when it comes to link building as a whole. Some consider it ”paid links” as well.

I guess they argue in favor of allowing paid links, but I think they rather make Google limit link building altogether in the webmaster guidelines. In any case, it’s intriguing to witness the on-going discussion and wide variety of opinions present in the SEO arena.

Google Buying or Selling Links

Why would Google itself buy or sell links? Is it at all possible? It seems yes, it happened again and again in the past and I was quite disenchanted when I discovered a high Pagerank site that has a ”sponsors” link to Google without the nofollow attribute, and hidden anchor text on top of that – another breach of the guidelines.

In the best case scenario, Google employees who have no clue about SEO and their own guidelines have made a mistake. In the worst case, Google itself does not have to adhere to its own guidelines.

Who sells or buys links?

The question who sells or buys links is wrong. The more apt one is: who does not sell or buy links? Sometimes it appears that most people do it and I am the only idiot who does not. If you want to stick completely to white hat SEO techniques, you’ll end up frustrated sooner or later with the competition who does not have such lofty ideals. Also, just the few cases where links been bought or sold admittedly show that “everybody” does it: big brands and news media are no exception.

Paid link SEO techniques

Do you want to buy or sell links? Well, think twice. Also consider similar tactics that at the end of the day have a similar effect but where the links are not directly paid. On the other hand, in cases where the competition does paid links and ranks with it without getting a penalty even a year after you have reported them to Google, you may have no choice.

Try everything else first though. Paid links are just a short cut and not a sustainable long term SEO strategy. It’s just an SEO tactic or technique that happens to work. Next day it might not work anymore. Better you prepare for tomorrow today, rather than just focusing on current results.

Do you really need paid links? Personally I’m a firm believer in the “link love” concept. It’s a very suitable metaphor. When it comes to love the more you give away the more you get. It works perfectly on the Web; the more you give away, the more you get in return, be it content, software or just links itself.

You have to give to get. So the money is spent indirectly. You spend it on the stuff you give away, and therefore you get the links. You can spend time or money to get links – you don’t have to do it by actually paying webmasters to link to you. Why not fund something else, then send out a press release about it and get interviewed as being the generous contributor?

Seth's Blog : Changing personas

Changing personas

This isn't easy. It's not easy for people or for organizations.

A marketing persona is the posture or approach or attitude you bring to the market. Your strategy might be speed or generosity or petulance. Over time, we tend to adopt the ones that work for us and abandon the others.

A scrappy startup has a persona of thumbing its nose at competitors and convention. It works. They do it more. Then, one day, the startup is actually the dominant player, and there's no one to thumb. A new persona is needed, or the company fails.

A cute kid starts out using the cute kid persona to get attention, treats and preferential treatment. Then he or she grows up and maybe isn't so cute any more. Suddenly, all the tricks that worked before don't seem to work now. No longer cute, now just angry.

A non-profit gets a boost at first because it's the new one, the untested, the great hope. The persona of insurgent fits them well. There are foundations and grants for innovators. A few years later, those grantors aren't so interested anymore, because they only fund the new. If the non-profit wants to keep growing, it will have to change its marketing story and attitude and posture so it appeals to the middle, not the edges.

Someone has success with pouting, with being hard to please, with occasional bits of bitterness. We want to soothe and entertain and please him, so the persona is effective. And then we don't any more. Switch the method you use to get attention or get used to being lonely.

Acknowledging the urgency of the problem and being aware of the need to change personas is the critical turning point for any of these marketers. Once you can see how a game that used to work has ceased to work, then, and only then, can you dream up a new game, a better one.

Please don't tell me about authenticity. Brands and personas are made, not born, and we use them because they work, not because our DNA ordains us to. When they stop working, it's time to change them.

Being comfortable with the familiar persona you see in the mirror is not the same as having an appearance that helps you reach your goals.

• Email to a friend •

•

marți, 26 aprilie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

UK is Bigger Fiscal Mess than Spain or Portugal; Fiat Currencies Don't Float
53% Worry About Not Having Enough Money in Retirement; Implications of Boomer Retirement Plans
Ron Paul to Announce Another Run for President

UK is Bigger Fiscal Mess than Spain or Portugal; Fiat Currencies Don't Float

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 03:05 PM PDT

For all the attention focused on the US dollar, especially silly hyperinflation calls, one might think there are few problems elsewhere.

That is not the case, however, as reckless credit expansion in China is the fastest in the G7 by far, Japan has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio and the UK is a certifiable fiscal-deficit basket-case.

With a spotlight on the latter, please consider UK has third biggest budget deficit in Europe

Britain's shortfall in its finances amounted to 10.4pc of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, according to data for each of the EU's 27 member states from the statistics agency Eurostat.

That meant the UK had a bigger deficit, or annual shortfall, than the recently bailed-out Portugal and also Spain, which is viewed as the next euro-using nation to potentially need international aid.

The largest deficit in proportion to the size of the country's economy was seen in Ireland, where the extra borrowing needed to shore up the banks left its deficit at 32.4pc of GDP.

Greece, which received a €110bn bail-out last year, was second with a deficit of 10.5pc, followed by the UK. Spain, at 9.2pc, and Portugal, at 9.1pc, were in fourth and fifth place.

The data showed the Greek finances were in an even poorer state than previously thought, as the latest figure – while trimmed from the previous year's 15.4pc – was higher than the latest 9.6pc estimate from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

In terms of total debt, the UK fared much better, although it was still among the 14 EU member states burdened with a debt higher than 60pc of GDP last year. EU member states are supposed to keep their debt under the 60pc level.

The debt figures, which refer to a government's total borrowing over time, rather than the latest yearly shortfall, showed Greece was again in the worst position with a debt equivalent to 142.8pc of its GDP, followed by Italy at 119pc and Belgium at 96.8pc.

The UK was in the ninth weakest position with a debt standing at 80pc of GDP, which was worse than Spain's 60.1pc. The average debt across the 16 members that use the euro hit a record 85.1pc, up from 79.3pc the previous year.

Given the fiscal mess in the UK, one might expect the British Pound to be among the weaker currencies in relation to the US dollar. Indeed, the following chart shows that to be the case.

British Pound vs. US Dollar Monthly Chart

Note that the British pound is 22% down from its 2008 peak vs. the US dollar in spite of retrace of a portion of its loss, and in spite of US dollar weakness against nearly everything else.

I suspect the Yen will have a date with sanity at some point as well.

Fiat Currency Rule Number 1

The above discussion leads us to saying of a friend of mine "Clyde" who is fond of pointing out "Fiat currencies don't float, they sink at varying rates."

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

53% Worry About Not Having Enough Money in Retirement; Implications of Boomer Retirement Plans

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 11:18 AM PDT

In spite of the massive stock market rally starting March of 2009, worries over retirement are up sharply from 2002. Please consider In U.S., 53% Worry About Having Enough Money in Retirement

A majority of nonretired Americans do not think they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, up sharply from about a third who felt this way in 2002. Nonretired Americans now project that they will retire at age 66, up from age 60 in 1995.

Younger Americans Most Positive

Younger Americans are the most optimistic about having enough money to live comfortably when they retire. They are also the least likely to say they will rely on Social Security as a source of income when they retire. This suggests that young Americans are looking optimistically toward other sources of income in retirement.

Nonretired Adults Now Project a Retirement Age of 66

Nonretired Americans now project a higher retirement age than in previous years. When Gallup first asked nonretired adults in 1995 when they expected to retire, 12% said they would retire after age 65. That percentage is now up to 37%. The percentage saying they will retire before age 65 is down from 47% in 1995 to 28% today.

Implications of Boomer Retirement Plans

Note the deflationary aspect of the survey results. Those who fear not having enough money for retirement have a strong incentive to spend less and save more.

Also note the number who expected to retire after age 65 has risen from 12% in 1996 to 37% today. In isolation, this would put upward pressure on the participation-rate and therefore unemployment. However, boomer demographics are such that it will take a decreasing number of jobs to hold unemployment constant.

In 2000 it took about 150,000 jobs a month to hold unemployment steady. Currently Bernanke expects it takes 125,000 jobs a month to hold the unemployment rate steady.

I expect that by 2015 it will only take 90,000 to 100,000 jobs a month to hold the unemployment rate constant.

However, there are millions of individuals who want a job and do not have a job but the BLS does not count as unemployed because they stopped looking for a job. Should those workers start looking for jobs, this too would put upward pressure on the participation rate and unemployment rate.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Ron Paul to Announce Another Run for President

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 12:27 AM PDT

Sound money advocates, small government advocates, Libertarians, and those affiliated with the nebulous "Tea Party" will be pleased to learn Ron Paul Launches Presidential Campaign

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, whose outspoken libertarian views and folksy style made him a cult hero during two previous presidential campaigns, will announce on Tuesday that he's going to try a third time.

Sources close to Paul, who is in his 12th term in the House, said he will unveil an exploratory presidential committee, a key step in gearing up for a White House race. He will also unveil the campaign's leadership team in Iowa, where the first votes of the presidential election will be cast in caucuses next year.

This would seem to be an ideal year for Paul: Since the last election, the Republican Party has moved much closer to his view on deficit reduction, which made him an early tea party favorite. All of the party's top-tier presidential hopefuls are focusing on lowering debt, government spending, and tax rates, issues Paul has long advocated.

Welcome Discussion of Key Issues

Ron Paul will certainly not be a favorite to win the nomination.

However, by running, Dr. Paul will influence the debate on key issues of government spending, currency, sound money, ending the Fed, military spending, US military actions, border control, and welfare.

We are all better off from an open discussion of these issues.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Damn Cool Pics

Funny Animal Demotivational Posters
Shanghai Auto Show on This Weekend
Uluru, Ayers Rock, Australia
Razy Gogonea's 'Matrix' Dance on Britain's Got Talent
Einstein - The World's Smallest Horse
Geeky Easter Eggs

Funny Animal Demotivational Posters

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 12:38 PM PDT

It's not everyday that you see a funny animal in real life, much less one worthy of a demotivational poster. Thanks to the internet, getting uninspired just became a lot easier.

Shanghai Auto Show on This Weekend

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 12:01 PM PDT

Auto Shanghai is a biennial international automobile show that alternates with the Beijing Auto Show and dates to its inception in 1985. Auto Shanghai became the first UFI approved Chinese auto show in June 2004.

Held every two years in the neighborhood of Pudong in Shanghai, China, since the 9th show in 2001, the exhibition has taken place at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.

According to the sponsor some 283,000 people visited the auto show this weekend.

Image Source: imaginechina

Uluru, Ayers Rock, Australia

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 11:40 AM PDT

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Aṉangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site. (Wikipedia)

Razy Gogonea's 'Matrix' Dance on Britain's Got Talent

Posted: 25 Apr 2011 10:53 PM PDT

Britain's Got Talent: 28-year-old dancer Razy, originally from Romania, is trying out for Britain's Got Talent with quite a unique act, taking queues from the film The Matrix. With breakdancers being notorious on this show – from Tobias Mead and Aiden Davis to winner George Sampson – has Razy got something special that makes him different?

Einstein - The World's Smallest Horse

Posted: 25 Apr 2011 10:05 PM PDT

Weighing 6-pounds and standing just 14-inches tall, Einstein is touted as the world's smallest horse, who was born April 22, 2010 in Barnstead, New Hampshire.

Einstein's physical proportions are similar to those of a normal-sized foal, and as Rachel Wagner, one of Einstein's co-owners, who features in the YouTube video at the end of the page, remarks: "He is very perfect looking little boy and not dwarfy looking at all."

Geeky Easter Eggs

Posted: 25 Apr 2011 09:43 PM PDT

The best part of Easter, apart from all the chocolate, is decorating the eggs. Easter eggs or spring eggs are special eggs given to celebrate the Easter holiday or springtime. The egg was a symbol of the rebirth of the earth in celebrations of spring and was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus. The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans. These eggs are often hidden, allegedly by the Easter Bunny, for children to find on Easter morning. Otherwise, they are generally put in a basket filled with real or artificial straw to resemble a bird's nest.

Here's a collection of shots of great eggs.

Zombie Eggs