If you are doing things to game Google, which everyone has to [to some degree] as there is a addictive dependency that has been created. A vicious circle of traffic need/expectation and the sheer dominance of one traffic provider.

In an article earlier this week by Search Engine Land they wrote up about the next significant algo update. The interesting thing in this article is that the after shocks in the last year or so have been just incremental updates, and a full 2.0 is coming.

This latest video featuring Matt Cutts of Google, talks about what changes are coming. Even IF you take his commentary as controlling spam through PR efforts; there is normally some directions/themes that you can take out of it.

Here is that video.

It seems that more changes are coming. Enhancements some might say. The tone of the video suggests that this is to be more comprehensive than before.

• There is a Penguin 2.0 a web spam change – to continue to target [hate myself for using this term] ‘black hat’. So, more comprehensive would mean more identification, to go deeper with bigger impact for site that are caught
• Advertorials, to prevent these from passing any page rank. If they are done just for SEO, then they are in violation of their “quality guidelines”. To make this a bit stronger in detection and decision making on value to pass. There are no issue with advertorials – unless they are just done to pass page rank for cash
• If you are running loans, porn, pills or hard SEO areas you are being targeted by name into your link practices! This included a named mention of finding networks and all sites associated with them

There were some positive things

• Better communication and information if your site is hacked or have malware inserted
• An attempt at giving sites the authority they deserve, and then the visibility there too
• Great news for many who were caught up partially or unfairly by their Panda update. Matt talks about looking for more +ve signals that may move some sites out from the borders
• And, some presentational things in the SERPs around clustering domains to a user. And, if you do see them once, you would be less likely to see them again on subsequent pages

So, to be honest, if this is true. Then the coming changes would be genuinely quite good for most hard working decent folk! Let’s hope it treats my sites well!

It was great to talk to many of you who had entered our Biggest Baddest Bucket list competition, and to get positive feedback from even more who have, and will keep following it as the final winner is found and then travels.

Back on point. I was asked to share my slides from my workshops – so here is a slightly more workable slide-share version. I hope it makes sense without the commentary.  I am likely to publish a post about Author rank and how to setup for WordPress in a week after I get back from this weeks business trip to Spain.   Please do stay in touch via this site, Twitter or my G+.

In this presentation I try to explain

• What SEO is today.
• To explain the relationship between SEO, Social Media and Content.
• To demystify what the Panda and Penguin Google updates where, and what that means for a travel blogger.
• And, to give practical tips: 5 SEO & 5 Social media things to do today and a look future trends to prepare for.

Any comments or thoughts let me know.

Well, for those who know me, I love models. Here is my model I mentally use to triage my working (and personal) life.

My time management model

I would you to use this model and I bet it changes your working life!

Eli Pariser in his TED talk explains how not to get trapped in a filter bubble. These first crude algorithms by the powerful platforms, which could be [in the short-term] quite self-fulfilling. That you only get shown what they think, or you have said you have been interested in: to the exclusion of other content.
So, many companies are quite rightly trying to attract audiences and get into people’s flows.

Queensland tourist board, back in 2009 ran “The Best Job In The World” to huge success, effectively starting the genre of competitions to raise a company’s profile. There have been a number of competitions in 2013 alone, some with success and some not so much. Ones that spring to mind include. First Choice, a TUI company has been running their “Want to Be a Slide Tester?” inside a Facebook app. Havana Club, the rum company is offering the chance to win a gap year, and the biggest one I have seen to date is My Destination, an online travel resource with their “Biggest Baddest Bucket List”. Their winner chooses at least 25 destinations, and must visit all 6 continents, over 6 months all expenses paid.

Maybe these companies have got it. Social media is an effective inbound channel that doesn’t respect brand heritage. It’s fun. It’s current. It also has the advantage of being relatively cheaper than global TV and if you get it right, you can win big. And if by magic, if you or your friends engage, you will see their work in the future in your personalised SERPs and social flows.

Just a thought for a Wednesday.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

When we arrived and arranged the conference room there were lots of big foamex mounted pics, mostly for the toddler group, but some strange circus marketing posters. I took the picture below to be an [admittedly arrogant] sign of things to come. How was it going to fail after seeing this?

Say no more….

Click to enlarge
Made by My Destination, locally informed, globally inspired travel guides and information

I just wanted to share 2 photos.

1. The most opulent room I have ever run a workshop in – just shows the scale of the Mandarin Oriental hotel or how important I am?!

And. 2. The closing party was fancy dress. Can you spot which one was me?

Well, as it happened to me today, I can tell you, I felt SICK! and a bit light headed. You might have lost hours of work, or that last great diagram you painstakingly drew by hand.

Well, there is still a small chance that your lovely auto-save has a version from a few minutes ago and has not deleted it yet.

So, before you let rip with a barage of expletives in-front of your colleagues try this final go.

Step 1

On the top ribbon, choose “File”, then select “Options”

Step 2

Down the left hand side find the 3rd option called “Save” and select

Step 3

Find the label “AutoRecover file location:”. It will contain a file path, something most like this –> C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\PowerPoint\

Step 4

Copy this out, paste into the top of Windows Explorer and you will find a mish-match of non-deleted versions of your work.

Step 5

Look at the files for a similar file name. Likely the first part the same, followed by lots of numbers. Check the timestamp and if it is in the previous 10 minutes you may be able to stop crying and carry on with your day!

Hope it helps.

Note: I am on Windows 7 and PowerPoint 2010.

Look around on your commute in tomorrow and you will see this new anthropological view on the world.