| LED Digest 2452: Human Powered Search |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom www.GetWebContent.com/LED : the LED's Key Sponsor The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. July 19, 2007 Issue no. 2452 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= <Moderator Comment> ~ Human Powered Search --== The False Economy of Amateur Work ==-- ~ Michael Linehan "You could do all your own accounting, but most of us don't." --== Offline Action: Print Catalogs? ==-- ~ Dirk Johnson "I'd call a full-blown catalog project a 'last resort' strategy." ======== CONTINUING =============================== <Moderator Comment> I don't have much steam today, and actually things are pretty slow on the list. If you've been itching to ask a question, post a rant, or start a debate now would be an ideal time. You know the posting email, so fire away. I do have one thing to talk about though... keep in mind I'm writing this late at night in a sort of free-flowing fog :) HUMAN POWERED SEARCH Don't know if you've heard, but apparently Mahalo.com is reinventing search (snark). The idea is to grab the top 10,000 or so most popular search terms (the head of the tail) and create editorially vetted result pages. That's right, hand-picked listings of sites judged relevant by a human being. I get the thinking here -- it's getting harder for search engines to effectively rank such a massive amount of data in various formats according to algorithmic relevance. Google is only so good at "organizing the world's information," and it doesn't know the difference between searches for "Garden State" the movie and "garden state" the state of New Jersey. It can't handle what they call disambiguation. And they're making moves towards integrating more verticals, but Universal Search isn't here yet and won't be for some time. (A little known secret is that there's a lot of "hand jobs" behind the scenes at the Googleplex, and many editors turning knobs on the results. So they already ARE human powered search, at least in part.) Along comes Mahalo. But wait - let's back up just a bit. Before Mahalo there was Delicious - a social bookmarking site. A very popular social site, that has evolved into an extremely effective vertical search engine. I still use it almost daily to search for specific stuff and find it relevant, fast, and very easy to use. The interface could use some help with ascetics, but word is they're getting the UI redesigned. Okay, back to Mahalo, a "new" kind of search engine. But wait, isn't this really a step back to 1997, when people hand-edited directories like Rex (remember that one) and Yahoo? When directories were often the first stop on a search for information, with the search box reserved for second place. Mahalo is just the newest version of About, or Rex, or the Yahoo directory. It really reminds me of an early Yahoo! directory page, complete with "editor picks" next to links like those little sunglasses next to old Yahoo! "cool sites." Back when the directory was right there visible at www.yahoo.com It's back to the future of human search with Mahalo.com. Readings: Yahoo Could Blow Mahalo out of the Water http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/12761 The Search Engine That's Already Better than Google http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-search-engine-thats... (the overstatement of the year, but some good points) -Adam -------------------- From: Michael Linehan Subject: False Economy > So my point is, if you go the DIY route, you > lose nothing but your time. - Maty Matyszak, LED Digest 2451 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1858/190/ Sorry. I have to disagree. Time is the most precious thing you have: it should never be frittered away lightly. One could be directly losing an enormous amount of money, or be greatly slowing progress towards whatever it is that means success. I am particularly interested in becoming expert at CSS layout, high-end Photoshop work, graphic design, building database-driven sites and more ---- but I have zero intention of doing so. I don't have the time. I'll leave that work to my associates who are already experts. > There's a third alternative, which we took. Do enough web > work, take some courses, read a lot, experiment a lot, spend > a few years lurking LED digest ;) and eventually you stop > being a 'wannabee webmaster'. You can become one of those 'pros' And I think you are exceptional. Most people who go DIY don't get that good, and for most, the business putters along at the same level - or fails. How come everyone isn't doing there own four-colour separations? It's a lot easier that making a successful website. How about our own printing? At a certain fairly low level, it becomes cost effective to have that done at a print shop. What about our own accounting? Our own computer maintenance? I suggest that for most businesses, working on the website is no different than these other business activities. After a certain level, it's better to have someone else do a lot of the work. The accounting example is actually a good illustration of my "partnership" proposal. You do your part - keep good records, keep your receipts, and so on. ---- And then you give it all to the professional to do their highly efficient, effective work with those data. You could do all your own accounting, but most of us don't. Why not? It's probably no more difficult that building a maximally effective website. What is it with websites!!!? :) Michael Linehan, Marketing Alchemy www.marketing-alchemy.com ============ Sponsor Message =========== Blogging can improve your site's ranking with both search engines and end users. Now, would you like us to tell you something you maybe don't already know? OK. A blog shouldn't be written like other web content. Here's why. http://www.getwebcontent.com/blog/?p=16 http://GetWebContent.com/LED: Blogging are us. ============ Sponsor Message =========== -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Dirk Johnson Subject: Print catalogs > My point is that direct marketing must work or these > companies would not be spending the huge amounts > of money they are on these efforts... What's the downside? > Direct marketing has quite a large cost associated with it. - Kerry Branham, LED Digest 2451 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1858/190/ Kerry, Please... go back an re-read my original post (LED Digest 2445 http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1851/190/ ). It points out very specifically that comparing the Victoria's Secret's of the world to a small mail order operation can lead to all manner of misguided strategic judgements. All kinds of business strategies are possible. That does not mean that they should be pursued, just out of curiosity to see if it works, or due to the simple observation that other businesses seem to do it successfully. The real question is, what is the total cost of pursuing a particular course, and what is the expected benefit? What effect does it have on the entire operation, and also on the business owner's "quality of life" as it relates to the business? Raising money to pursue print catalogs would add *yet another* layer of management effort and cost. The total cost of full-blown catalog production and distribution in time, labor, money, and hassle, can be very daunting. In most cases, the expected increase in sales (both in total volume and in "per order" averages) would have to be astounding in order to justify it. Is that outcome realistic? These kinds of decisions can change the entire character of a small business. Large investments create stress, especially if they fail to provide the expected return. At that point, they leave a hole, in the form of debt and wasted effort. There are usually so many other things that an online business can do to increase sales, at far less total cost and risk. Those should be pursued first. I'd call a full-blown catalog project a "last resort" strategy. Maybe it would be a huge success, but the risks required to find out can be substantial. Best regards, Dirk Johnson www.domaindrivers.com ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by: GetWebContent.com The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. 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