links for 2009-02-18

A leading privacy advocacy group is preparing to file a federal complaint against Facebook's new privacy policies, a published report said Tuesday.

According to PC World, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is getting ready to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, demanding that the massively popular social networking service return to its previous policies.

Blogging doesn’t have to be a “what do I want to write today?” exercise. It can be as formal or as informal as you’d like it to be, but should you have specific goals for how blogging influences the rest of your business communications and online relationship building, it might help to have a plan. One such way to think of your blogging is by considering each post a building block to something larger, instead of just loose pages of thought.

There are so many Tweets and so little time. What’s a “Tweeple” to do? Twitter aggregator and trend websites use a variety of tactics to filter out what’s up and coming and of interest to the Twittersphere in contrast to the mass of mundane Tweets. Twitter stream aggregators are useful for a variety of reasons ranging from discovery of news to competitive research. (Follow me on Twitter here @leeodden):

Everyday I receive an email from somebody about how their account was hacked, how a friend tagged them in the photo and they want a way to avoid it, as well as a number of other complications related to their privacy on Facebook. Over the weekend one individual contacted me to let me know that he would be removing me as a friend from Facebook because he was “going to make a shift with my Facebook use – going to just mostly family stuff.”

After reading the post by Heini van Bergen on setting up filters on Google Analytics something caught my attention. Something I was looking for, since I started researching Local Search Optimisation. I wanted to know how many people were actually clicking the blended results you see in Universal Search. Google Analytics measures these clicks as Google (organic). But what if my link appears in the SERPS twice? How do I know which link was clicked? And if my link is listed in the SERPS more than once, which one of them is converting in a better way?

Several mobile phone companies on Tuesday announced a plan to adopt a universal cellphone charger, making it possible, at long last, for consumers to get rid of the tangle of incompatible old chargers filling up the bottom drawer of their desks.

Turns out that Jeff Taylor, the founder behind Monster.com, has started up a site called Tributes.com, at which consumers can stay informed 24/7 and connected with “accurate obit alerts” for any town in the US, alumni, family name, or military unit.

I originally wrote this email for internal consumption; Presidents' Day here in the US and President Obama's recent inaugural address got me thinking about the future of the Internet, Google, and the challenges that lie ahead. The note borrows from a host of US presidential inaugural addresses to illustrate some of its points (thanks to former President Clinton for the title). Quite a few Googlers suggested I share it externally, so here it is, with just a few minor edits. – Jonathan Rosenberg

After a wave of protests from its users, the Facebook social networking site said on Wednesday that it would withdraw changes to its so-called terms of service concerning the data supplied by the tens of millions of people who use it.

… and 38 percent simply “don’t know” what they want, according to a poll being conducted by Facebook in selected user’s news feeds discovered by CNET.

President Obama has decided to send an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help stabilize the situation there in preparation for new elections scheduled for Aug. 20.

Why is the value of SEO based solely on how well a keyword ranks? While it's hard to ask that without Andy Rooney's voice playing in my head, it's even harder for me to believe that all success should be measured by the improvement of a popular keyword.

In SEO, they have the right to know what the hell you are talking about when you talk about "attraction", "entry" or "zebra" pages.

When I suggested that we consider setting standards for the SEO industry, I had no idea the topic would cause such uproar. I was actually following up on a SMX West panel I was involved in with three other panelists who also provided their opinions on the need for SEO industry standards, and I advocated for the need of a clean glossary of definitions with an assigned risk rating.

The SEO community has been foaming at the mouth lately over whether or not we need standards for the industry. As Chris Boggs points out in his article, "SEO Standards Signal the Maturing of Our Industry," the discussion affects both industry mainstays and newcomers alike, with ethics and education being intrinsically tied to standardization.

The imprecise nature of SEO tends to put clients on edge. A reliable traffic prediction metric is truly the Holy Grail for search marketers. Even an educated guess correlating stronger ranking and optimization to improved traffic would put the client at ease, and also add some legitimacy to what we do. But even if we could predict keyword boosts based on search ranking, there's still no guarantee that we cwould achieve the desired ranking based on implemented recommendations alone.

Every industry has its own set of rules to play by, some more rigid than others. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) agencies not only have to tailor search campaigns around client needs, but also must navigate the somewhat frustrating and often turbulent waters of client bureaucracy.

Are we heading toward an age where site ranking doesn't matter? While a site appearing on page 20 of the search results will never receive the same attention as a site on page one, Google is collecting more information on search habits and patterns in an attempt to personalize results.

With every holiday season comes the inevitable parties and get-togethers. As with any social gathering, you might find yourself among unfamiliar company being asked about your job.

Judge Washington chose to turn the picture over on its side on his own, according to officers.