Chronicles of a Frustrated Runner

F*CK!!

How’s that for an opener, huh? Cut me some slack, please. I stared at this screen for 10 minutes trying to figure out how to start this thing and it’s the best I could come up with.

I’m frustrated and feel like talking about it.

Here’s the backstory. I turn 40 four days from today and I’ve been trying to run a marathon for a few years now only to be hampered by an injury every time I seem to find a groove in my training.

In June of 2007, I had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in my knee. December of 2008 brought an ankle surgery to repair a break and a resulting OCD lesion. And today, January 4, 2011, a renowned podiatrist informed me that the reason I have excruciating pain in both heels is because of bone spurs accompanied by either planter fasciitis or plantar fasciosis; we’ll find out which it is for sure in 2 weeks from today.

The reason this sucks so bad is that I’ve got my heart set on the Big D marathon in Dallas, TX on April 10…and it looks like a long shot that I’ll be able to make it.

F*CK AGAIN!!

Is this what I’ve been reduced to? Please tell me it isn’t.

Prestonwood Baptist Pervert Minister Going To Hell (if there is such a place)

I'll go ahead and get this out in the open right now: I'm not a big supporter of organized religion. There. I said it.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I'll proceed.

You've seen those "mega-churches" right? You know, the monstrosities built on 10 acres that have restaurants, spas, & sports facilities that rival the new Cowboys stadium? Yeah..those. They bug the living shit out of me. Living in the "bible belt," as its called, subjects me to all kinds of wacky, overly religious jackasses. Worse still are the give-me-your-money-or-else-you-can't-be-saved scammer evangelist-types like Robert Tilton, Benny Hinn, etc. I can't stand any of it or any of them because I think it's all bullshit.

So, more than a decade ago when the Prestonwood Baptist church (a.k.a. relig-o-mall) was being built, I was bummed because it was being constructed right in my neck of the woods. Then the inevitable happened and all-too-many people I knew started attending church there because the damn thing seats about 400,000 on Sunday mornings. Oh, how they loved it there, too.

"That place is amazing," I'd hear.

"The ministry is so down-to-earth and they really take care of their members," they'd croon.

Then the worst, "I just LOVED that sermon on Sunday! Matt, you gotta hear this guy speak...he'd change your mind."

After washing the vomit out of my mouth, I'd move on with my day.

Why am I so cynical about this?

Case in point: today one of the ministers from that very church was arrested for trying to have sex with what he thought was a 13 year-old girl. Yup...drove 3 hours from shiny Plano down to Bryan with a box of rubbers in hand.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??

Church? Pffft. It'll teach your kids great values, huh? Barf.

Tell me I need to attend church to save my soul and I'll tell you what a ridiculous joke I think you are.

It's way too dicey and I'm not that much of an asshole to be outspoken about religion regularly. It's none of my business and I typically respect everyone's right to do whatever it is they choose. I certainly do what I want, so why shouldn't everyone else? Just because I don't buy into any of that crap doesn't mean I'm right...it's just my opinion.

And just to set the record straight, I'm not just an uninformed dipshit with a big mouth. I have an older brother who graduated from Harvard and is a Rector at an Episcopal church in the northeast...and has been for many years. Yep..he's a priest. And he's the smartest person I've ever met and I have more respect for him than he'll ever know. And just because I don't share his "affinity for divinity," I think the world of the guy and would lay down in traffic for him without hesitation. He's my big bro.

But, man, I was so disgusted with this story that I had to vent. Thankfully nobody really reads this blog.

Hey, Joe Barron, I'll see you in hell...if there is such a place...

Will Social Spark Sputter?

OK, so let me be the first to admit that I do not understand what Social Spark is or what kind of value/fun/whatever it's supposed to bring to its' users. That's my disclaimer.

See, I've been to the site several times...was even in on the beta. Still don't get it.

I assume that the idea is to launch a shiny new site (albeit a bit Las Vegasy) that wears a "social" label and hope that a universal adoption occurs within Pay-Per-Post's current user base. But why not just do that at Pay-Per-Post?

And for Advertisers, the ones who make this work, what's in it for them? Sure, you get to "hand pick" your bloggers...but can't you do that everywhere?? (ahem...) Umm..yeah, you can. And these are all fully-disclosed and "search engine compliant" which leads me to believe that all linkage is no-followed. Great. Oh wait....no, that sucks!

I think Ted is a really sharp guy and has done some great things but this I just don't get. Why not release PPP v2 or something?

We'll see if social spark turns into social sputter or not. I can't help but be amused by the whole social-bandwagoning that's going on with this. Do Advertisers really give a shit about mingling with bloggers? My experience tells me "no." They want their links. Followed.

I'm Still Cowboy Horny

This has been one rough fucking week. If there's ever been "something on my mind" its right now. This second.

I'm not going to get in to the details of the game. It's not important...because we lost...fair and square.

SHIT!

But I'm not here to cry about it. Quite the contrary, actually. Because in addition to the fact that I've almost completely lost the urge to kill myself, I'm already beginning to feel really optimistic about the very sore-loserish next season.

Why?

Because we Cowboy fans got some wonderful news today. Jason Garrett turned down two head coaching jobs (Baltimore & Atlanta) that were offered to him to stay in Dallas. Yeah, he's getting paid to stay here for sure ($3 million per year), but you could just tell at his press conference that Dallas is where he genuinely wanted to be.

I love it.

And combine the heart-tugging brownie points that earned him with the gaudy stats his offense put up this year and I'll tell you what; he's the guy I want running my offense next season. This was only his first year as an offensive coordinator, too. Next year could be sick! Yum.

I'm normally a real positive guy in most aspects of my life but when the Cowboys lose like this it devastates me. I've got such an emotional investment in this team that I should probably think about therapy. So this week has SUCKED. Big time.

And to make things worse, I was actually there...at the game...to witness the horror in person. I mean, do you think Yvette and I were ready for a win or what??



But things can't always go your way. You have to move on. And I'm trying to.

So this news of Jason Garrett staying here has the Cowboy blood flowing again. I'm excited for next season.

When's the draft? Mini-camps start in May, right? Training camp will be here before you know it...end of July.

GO COWBOYS!!

Happy Birthday To Me...

My Speaking Cherry Has Been Popped

So I went out to Los Angeles on Tuesday to speak at the SES Local@ILM 07 show yesterday morning. It was my first time to speak on a panel at one of the big conferences and I must say, it was a lot of fun.

I'd like to thank the Kelsey Group and SES for giving me the opportunity. More specifically, thanks to Stewart Quealy & Kevin Newcomb from Incisive Media and my panel-mates Sage Lewis and Ian McAnerin. You guys made me feel really comfortable and I appreciate that.

Most people in our business know Sage and Ian. They're both a wealth of knowledge and are definitely seasoned pros on the speaking tour. Being a newbie-presenter, it was great to have these guys up there with me.

There were more people than I thought there would be. I heard there were about 300 people in the room during our session, which is cool. The Q&A was great and a lot of people came up to me afterwards with questions and kudos.

Although I didn't get to spend too much time at the actual show, I did have a chance to peruse the venue a bit. Good crowd and the show was put together nicely. It was a great experience and I'll look forward to doing that again sometime down the road.

Google PukeRank

I wrote about how pissy Google is last week, but man...I'm so sick of hearing about PR that I think I'm gonna barf!

I feel sorry for all the publishers out there who have been running scared and wondering what to do. There's really nothing for them to be worried about because all they're losing is PukeRank at this point....not authority or rankings. I know, I know....a lot of folks are worried that a drop in PR might mean they will lose advertisers, but that's unlikely. As long as advertiser's positions in the SERPs remain stable, so will their linking campaigns.

Trust me on that. I'm more than a little tuned in to any fallout or ripples in this area.

That could change down the road, sure. You never know where this thing will go. But for now, whether this is merely just a shot across the bow of the link industry or Google is really so full of themselves that they think a drop in PR will force webmasters from far and near cower with fear and concede; it's still business as usual.

PukeRank - the new page barfometer.

Stonebridge Ranch triathlon

So I finally sacked-up and ran my first-ever triathlon this weekend and man, let me tell you, it was A BITCH! I enjoyed it (afterwards) and I'll be doing it again....but wow. This was definitely a learning experience.

My day began at 4:30am. The alarm wasn't going off for another half-hour but I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep...my mind was racing already (rock me!). I had to be in McKinney by 6:15 so I needed to be out the door by 5:30. So I got up, had a protein shake, finished packing my race bag and headed out.

I met up with Henrik at about 6:30 where he so graciously delivered a bike for me to use. A bike, I might add, that I'd never seen before...much less ridden. In retrospect, this was piss-poor-planning on my part. Spilled milk, though...whatever. I'll get to that later.

We made it to the transition area where the volunteers wrote our race numbers all over us with magic marker. (That was kinda cool, actually. Not sure why, but it was.) Henrik showed me how to best set up my area and gave me a quick run-down of what to expect during my transitions from swim to bike and bike to run. After fielding all of my questions, we headed over to the lake where the swim would take place.

Now, out of all 3 events (swim/bike/run) I was sure that I'd do the best in the water. I swam some in high school and I've been training A LOT in the pool....so I thought this would be my strength. Well, had it been in a pool, maybe it would have. But an open-water swim is NOTHING like swimming in a pool. In a lane. By yourself.

This is not that. At all. Not even a little bit.

The starter gets everyone in my group into the water. We paddle out to a buoy where we're to tread-water until they give us the "official" start. 60-70 guys just treading water in one big bunch. Hmmm....how the hell is this going to work?

At the word "go" we all took off in this chaotic mess of arms, legs, and water. I couldn't see shit. I couldn't swim, either. I'd try to stroke, but my hand or arm would land on someone else...there was no "traction" at all. In addition to that little hiccup, I was being bludgeoned with arms and feet in the head, face, back, arms, and legs by the other swimmers. It was INSANE! My goggles were pulled down my face and were at one point just dangling around my neck like a necklace.

So you expend all this energy and effort to simply fight for position. (And in my case, fight to tread water while putting your damn goggles back on!) Forget about the fact that there is still a half-mile's worth of watery terrain to be covered before you can get out, you need to stay above the water to breathe! It was nuts, man....very intense. At one point I was sure that they were going to have to pull me into one of the many small "safety" boats around (just as we'd seen happen to a couple other people in the previous wave) so I wouldn't fucking drown but somehow, some way, I was able to finish. I had a pretty shitty time...like 18 minutes and change, but I finished it. And come to find out, I did better than a lot of people in this event.

I limped out of the lake. Most people who compete run from the water to the transition area to get their bike. I was so exhausted that I could barely manage to walk. Oh, and I might as well tell you that I had to stop and puke a few times on my way to my bike, too. Nice, huh? One volunteer said to me, "Hey 789 (my race number), you need some help?" And I wanted to say, "Hell yeah, can you give me a ride to the finish line?" but all I could muster was, "No...just struggling." It would have been SO easy and convenient to quit and blow it all off at that point...but that wasn't going to happen.

Now I'm on the bike, which I've never ridden before, for a nice 12 mile jaunt. Did I mention that I've never ridden this bike before? Yeah. Great. So, as I'm settling in, the first thing I realize is that the toe-clips are too tight to get my shoes in completely which isn't good. You want to be able to pull-up as well as press-down on the pedals for maximum efficiency and ill-fitting toe-clips puts the kabosh on that idea quickly. But I decide to press on because to be perfectly honest, that was the least of my concerns. I was still so exhausted from the swim that I was still in tunnel-vision. Seriously. You know, when everything is sort of black around the edges of your field of view? I assumed it would go away and it did a bit later.

What seemed more alarming now was that I had no idea how to work the gears on this bike. Henrik told me that one of the derailers was broken so I only had 12 gears instead of the normal 24. No big deal. But since you no longer move a gear-lever up and down like you did 20 years ago, I had no idea which way to shift using the brake levers; which on really nice bikes like this one, you just sort of push the brake lever to one side and the gears engage. The problem was, I'd never ridden a "nice" racing bike before! Part of it, too, was that for the first 6 miles or so I was living in a very surreal state of mind...probably from the oxygen deficiency I picked up in that damn lake, I'm sure.

At any rate, I ended up finishing that leg feeling a lot better than when I started it. My time suffered the most here. The 12 mile bike that should've taken me a half-hour took 48 minutes with the vomiting, sloth-like transition, and bicycle-related technical difficulties.

As I'm dismounting the bike in transition, where I'd ditch it in exchange for my racing belt and sunglasses, I noticed that my left calf seized up again. It happened the first time on the puke-walk from the lake to the bike, but I was paying more attention to the simple fact that I was still alive at that point and was just elated to be out of the water. Now, though, I had to think about running a 5k with a semi-bad wheel. I quickly came to a conclusion; just go.

About 200 yards into my run, I see Henrik finishing his run. DAMN! In passing he says, "finish strong, dude" and that was exactly what I intended to do. He had just ran a half Iron-Man a month ago and does these sprint triathlons all of the time. He's an animal and I have more respect for him today than I ever have before. I, on the other hand, am a complete newbie...just struggling to finish...but that very short pep-talk put some gas in my tank.

All things considered, I had a pretty good run - 3.1 miles in 29 minutes. I did have to walk a little bit in a couple spots, but I was fucking exhausted! What else?! At least I was no longer in danger of drowning or having to be shamefully extracted from the race by volunteers. I did sprint (that's a relative term, I'm sure) the last couple hundred yards and crossed the finish line feeling like a million bucks.

I was tired and a little beat-up, but the feeling of accomplishment took the sting out of all that. Well, until I saw the results, that is.

Out of the 371 participants that actually finished the race, my official ranking was a very sad 328. I don't know how many didn't finish it...could've been another 50 people or more based on what I've heard today, but I'm obviously not real happy with my performance. First time, though....screw it.

I'll definitely be more prepared next time. Maybe I'll train for a little 10k run or something to keep in shape while I decide how I want to proceed from here. The only thing I do know is that I could've done much better...and I will next time.

Getting To Know Facebook

I'm so lame and behind the times because I'm just now "poking" around on Facebook. 'Bout time, huh? Yeah...probably so.

I've noticed a huge increase in industry-related groups popping up here and there on Facebook and that's honestly what really got my attention. In addition to who you'd expect to find like Sugar Rae, Todd, and Neil; you'll also find some cool offshoot groups like the one Chris Hooley put together called "Drinking Your Way To Popularity." This one seems to have some shtick and I'm in! Drinking, puking, and being stupid is right up my alley...let's get this on.

I started a LinkWorth group and I'm looking forward to having some fun with that. Maybe some of the people that join can show me what the hell to do next! :D

The Problem With Employees

Is there a bigger x-factor in the world of small business than the employee? I mean happy, hard-working, loyal, enthusiastic employees are hard to come by and when you've got one; you should do everything in your power to keep them because chances are you're going to find far fewer of them than you will the ones that can be considered "expendable."

Since our inception almost 4 years ago, two employees have quit. Before yesterday, that total was one. (And the first guy that quit rejoined us soon after learning that the grass was browner on the other side. So I guess you could really say we lost our first one yesterday, in a sense.)

Several have been fired (mostly by me) and those were just bad hires to begin with. Sometimes you have to take chances on people...especially in an industry with a relatively small pool of talent.

But this one has been tough for me to deal with because it came down to money. Simply put, there were two conflicting perceptions of the value this employee brought to us: his and ours. He wanted more cash, we didn't think his experience or quality of work demanded it....so he bailed. And to be honest, it sucks.

I'm pissed-off, bitter, and sad all at once because I liked this kid. And now I have to put more shit on hold until we find a replacement and that makes me very grouchy at this point. Damn.

So what's the point of this post? I'm not sure, it was just something on my mind, I guess.

New Control Center Is Up And Running!

We just made the switch from the old version of our control center to the new one. I'm really excited to hear everyone's feedback on this! It feels like it's taken us forever but I'm really happy with the way it looks.



It's a far cry from the outdated interface we've been using, but I think this is very fresh. It's a lot easier to navigate and should be MUCH easier on the eyes! I know we'll probably run into a few bugs at first, but I certainly welcome that by comparison. We already know of a few things to improve but by and large, this sucker is DONE!

Now we can begin the additional modifications to the front end and roll out some new stuff that we've been sitting on while this piece was completed.

Lookout world, LinkWorth 2.0 is here!

GO COWBOYS!!

My beloved Dallas Cowboys will play their first pre-season game this evening against the defending Super Bowl champions the Indianapolis Colts. I'm so fired up that it's football season!

A lot of people can't stand the pre-season and dismiss it as "meaningless" or "boring" or whatever else the non-fan can come up with. But for me, this is a really exciting time.

I've been reading everything about training camp. I know who's competing at every position. The battle to win a roster spot begins tonight and I'll watch every down at least twice. BRING IT ON!!!

This is without a doubt my favorite time of the year. So, let's go, Cowboys! Show me whatcha got!!

UPDATE - 8/10

How 'bout them Cowboys?? Yeah, yeah...just pre-season, I know. But it was still an ass-whippin'!!

I Suck, But I'm Great? What?

I've been in sales for a long time and I thought I'd pretty much heard it all by now, but today I was made aware of a humorously ego-bruising fact: I'm not the best salesman in the world. :(

I was actually told this by a client today who, I might add, also decided to award me with his business. Apparently his RFP was down to two firms: ours and another. I was informed that my competitor was "real slick" and that I "should hear him on the phone...he's unbelievable."

(Duly noted, sir. I'll keep that in mind next time I feel the need to brush up on my line of bullshit. Giggle!!)

I chuckled audibly when I heard this for all the obvious reasons only to be interrupted with "but I'm a lot more comfortable with you and what you've had to say...so I'm going with you."

Ummm....alright. Thanks, I think?

So, as the animated question mark hovered above my head, a confused smile broke over my face while I tried to stifle my laughter along with the other folks in the conference room that heard this transpire. I mean, am I missing something here?

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not complaining and I wasn't offended by his remark. A little amused and confused? Yes, but offended? Not at all. In a weird way I actually took it as a huge compliment. I mean, I'd rather be someone you can trust than some slick-rick golden throated used car salesman but the wrapper this compliment came in was new to me.

But back-handed or not, I'll take it.

No, I'm not the best salesman in the world. I'm pretty sure I've never claimed to be, thought I was, or even wondered about it. But who does?

These are good times! The only bad news, however, is that now I feel the need to seek out this competitor of mine and offer him my job. Because my job is to do what's best for LinkWorth and he's "unbelievable!"

Shimon Sandler: The Gourmet SEO

Most people in this business seem to know who Shimon Sandler is. He's well-known because he knows his stuff inside and out. Oh, and he's a great guy. I've had the pleasure of building a nice relationship with him and the guy rocks...plain and simple.

I've been a reader of his for well over a year now and he always has great insight on paid search, SEO, you name it. He's also not scared to throw out some tasty recipe ideas!

How's that for keeping your blog fresh and informative??

My wife has agreed to make the Gourmet Meatloaf for Hungry SEO's and I'll be prepared to give a critique. I mean, I'm from Texas and we know our meatloaf, dammit! And his doesn't even call for ketchup, so I'm definitely intrigued.

Anyway, go visit him....buy stuff from him....click his links....all that jazz.

Out.

The Social Tsunami

I have Diggtwitoratiface. Huh? What's this? It's my definition for being completely overwhelmed by all of the social networking/media sites out there.

I was thinking about this last night about after the introduction of Sphinn, which I'm really kind of pumped about. I mean, shit, every time I join one community it seems like 5 more pop-up that everyone is talking about. And I don't think I can ever "catch up" and manage to learn, network, and be effective on any of them...much less all of them. It gives me tired-head just thinking about it. So many sites...so little time.

Digg, Twitter, Technorati, del.icio.us, Reddit, MySpace, Facebook, Technorati, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Fark, Furl, Spurl, Slashdot, MyBlogLog, YouTube, Squidoo and the list goes on and on. Are you kidding me? How the hell am I supposed to keep up? I know they all have their place and they serve different purposes, but DAMN!

Does anyone else feel this way? It's a full-time job just trying to stay current. And here's a newsflash; I already have a full-time job! A really busy one! Then throw in a wife, a couple kids, and a bunch of friends that I hardly ever see and I constantly feel like I just got quadruple-sat with big parties, the computers are down, and we've 86'd half the menu. (Pardon the restaurant speak, but some of you may actually get that!)

But wait a second. Take a deep breath. Chill. Do I really need to be plugged in at all of these joints?

No, I don't. For some reason I feel like I have to be because of what I do for a living but you know what? I just have to choose. Carefully.

I just think to myself, "Self, what am I looking to get out of this site? How can it help me?" And when I put it into perspective like that, it's easy to figure out. I'm far from a social media guru. I'm more like a social media newbie.

For me, the conundrum relates to my professional life. There are things that have to be done that require efficient use of this social media space. I have to produce for my clients. I have to be on top of industry happenings. I have to educate them. I need to network and build relationships. I need to grow our company. So for me, at least, I'm focused on the sites that I can benefit the most from in a selfish way.

If it's just for fun, I don't feel sorry for you and you're on your own. Go throw up a MySpace page and get out of my facebook...

Looking For Stalkers

Although there's already a million social media sites out there, a new one reared its' head today and I have to tell you; I'm interested.

This comes straight from the loins of Search Engine Land and its called Sphinn (pronounced "spin") and the reason I'm so interested is because it's the first Digg-esque type social media site dedicated to our industry that I think will be worth a shit.

This will be like the one and only social media site that I'll ever be able to say I joined the first day it was open. And since I'm horrible about keeping up with most of them, I kinda have the most hope for Sphinn because I know I'll be there daily simply because I'm already at Search Engine Land everyday.

Now I just need some friends there. So stalk on, stalkers! Let me hear from ya!

Affiliate Summit

This show is different from the others, man. These people are full-throttle!

We came to Miami to see if Affiliate Summit could be a good venue to generate leads and gain publishers by exhibiting at a future show. A recon mission, if you will. And although we haven't totally figured that part out yet, I will say that it was a lot of fun.

The sessions were somewhat disappointing but that happens at most stops on the conference circuit. (Okay, SMX Advanced was good, but whatever.) I was really looking forward to seeing ShoeMoney speak again but that session really turned out to be more of a Q & A where he and Lee Dodd took questions from the audience. It was cool of them...they gave people suggestions and all, which is nice...but I was hoping for more of a presentation as opposed to hearing about other peoples' problems.

We had a few good meetings that could turn out to be productive down the road. One in particular was with Nevada Shane & Caroline Mason from Lead Flash. I think there's some opportunity there and it will be cool to expand into yet another revenue channel.

We also met with John Grosshandler from eComXpo and it looks like we're going to participate in the next couple of virtual conferences they offer. This is a cool concept although I have no idea what to expect. I mean, will people really log on to this thing? We'll see. But John seemed cool and there are a lot of big names associated with this gig so I'm pretty optimistic.

Miami kicks ass. The weather was phenomenal. The venue was great. The conference was put together nicely and things ran very smoothly.

But probably the best part of the Miami experience was The Police show. They still have it! And our seats were great:



Dophin Stadium needs to learn how to throw a party because that venue SUCKED for a concert. I'm so disgusted with that place that I won't even go into it.

And last thing, prior to arriving in Miami, we flew from Dallas to Washington DC to attend Juan & Juliana's wedding. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN! Thanks for the unbelievable hospitality guys. We felt like we were the guests of honor and we talked about it the whole time so thanks again.

JohnCow.com is funny

Ron wrote a post on this already on the LinkWorth blog, but I had to mention it here, too. Go visit this site...it's funny as hell!

Nice work, John Cow!

The Green Gores

I keep seeing news about Al Gore III’s recent arrest for possession of marijuana, Valium, Xanax, and Adderall and I can’t help but get a kick out of the big deal that’s being made. Yeah, he smoked some bud, had a bunch of pills, & shouldn’t have been driving. Much less, driving 100mph at 2:15am…but I’ll chalk that up to him being young and dumb...we all make mistakes.

But the news on this is crazy. Is that because he’s a Gore? I mean, the Gore’s have a history with getting high, right? Al’s dalliances in partying have been well-documented and I’m not mad at him for that. Hell, he burned while campaigning in ’76 but how can you blame him? That must be some stressful shit! He was just getting his head right and an old friend sold him out…lame.

I’m no supporter, though, let it be known. And one of the two things we should never talk about is politics. (The other is religion…fyi.) I was shocked that #3 was hit with a $20k bail, though. In California of all places? That’s like the most laid-back place in the world outside of Amsterdam when it comes to stuff like this, isn’t it?

Anyway, the reason this whole thing is so ironic to me is because I keep seeing his dad promoting this Live Earth concert that takes place today. He’s all about global warming and being green…and I keep hearing him say those exact words. So, the comedian in me can’t help but get a chuckle out of the double-meaning of the word “green” since his son’s second marijuana-related arrest. Especially whilst driving a Prius!

Giggle.

The Google Bowling League

Okay, so, wow. Matt Cutts seemingly admitted something new recently by saying in Forbes that it is possible to negatively affect another website's rankings within the Google SERPs.

But let's be honest...this isn't earth-shattering news, is it? I mean, we knew this already, right?

Sure, I was in Las Vegas last November at Pubcon, too, and I'd swear I heard him explicitly say that there was nothing you could do to negatively impact another website's rankings.

But don't you kinda have to take that with a grain of salt? I mean, what else is the guy gonna say when asked in front of a bunch of people? "Actually, there is a way to game our engine by being evil...."

Nah. And I can't say I blame him. He's just a loyal guy toeing the company line.

Now, to keep things fair, my memory might not be serving too well. We did some drinkin', that's for sure. And that was the trip that a long-time client and I both had LinkWorth logos inked on us...so I wasn't necessarily at my sharpest during the sessions. But I'm still fairly certain that I heard what I think I heard.

Do I care? Nope. Am I shocked? Not at all. Do I feel betrayed? Negative.

I've heard a lot of chatter about it today so I wanted to mention it. I'm also really familiar with one of the "sources" from the Forbes article and he's certainly more than credible.

So what do I think? Nothing really. Just another topic of conversation on another normal day in SEM.

Well, except that I think Threadwatch is really closing down. :(