A few moderators were asking if there was an over-abundance of dissatisfied Google users these days?

Riding the Google wave for a whole host of newbies was easy. They cracked the Google algo For the first five years of Google, you could effectively sum up 80% of the Google algo this way:

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Google Algo = Get Links = Good Rankings
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That was the SEO expertise of an entire generation of Google Wave Webmasters (I call them “Google Wavers” or just “Wavers”).

I talked with the LEAD senior optimizer for a top 5 seo firm last summer at a conference. We were talking about my Keyword Density Analyzer utility that is available here for subscribers. I raised an eyebrow as he did not understand concept of keyword density. He simply didn’t know what it was and instead wanted to talk about links. That is not the exception – that sort of ignorance is rampant out there. There are guys and gals reading this right now, that are top 50 seo’s. There are also people you read every day as “experts” who couldn’t pass an SEO101 class. I know one seo who has written a successful book about SEO, who I am almost positive has never done any SEO but her/his blog.

The majority of the SEO knowledge out there today is about links. From services that provide linking, to sites that sell links, we have a huge investment in “links=seo”. So huge, that even long after linkage as SEO is dead an buried, there will still be those trumpeting it as the end-all-be-all of SEO to make coin off it.

What happens to all those Wavers that think Getting Links = SEO when that majority of the Google algo is devalued in various ways? Wavers built their fortunes on “links=seo”. When that goes away, the Wavers have zero to hold on to.

All they can do – is complain. An entire generation of webmasters are forced to go back to SEO101 and learn what they ignored or never had the fortitude and passion to learn.

-bt

…I have a friend who’s a billionaire. He invented Cliff notes. When I asked him how he got such a great idea, he said, “Well first I…..I just….to make a long story short…” – Stephen Wright

In one of the more amusing articles, I have seen in awhile, silicon.com proposes a set of password guidelines. While some are very useful – other are dubious – and still others humorous.

[silicon.com...]

My take:

1. Passwords must not be written down. Yes, you must remember that autogenerated forced password like: “71JU28kIjjL7126″ by pure memory power alone. LOL! Fact: There is little chance of your remembering all the passwords you are forced to use. Tip: Always record your passwords somewhere in some form. We’d recommend one of the many password keeper programs that can be locked. Or, write them down and put them in a company safe. We’d suggest a simple encryption system such as exchanging the first or last two characters of every password.
2. Passwords must be set. TIP: If a required secure system allows you to leave a password as a default (such as password or admin) – then get a new system because the current one is not secure and there is little doubt that fundamental security flaws will be found under the skin.
3. Require as few passwords as possible. FACT: You have no choices in this matter. You gotta use – what you gotta use.
4. Staff must change their passwords regularly. That is a good tip, but fred2006 will change his password to fred2005 and flip back and forth. Most studies on this one have shown that people simply cycle between a few default flavors.
5. Make new passwords new. The only way to do that is to use a randomization routine. Which brings us full circle back to 1.
6. Avoid obvious words. Good tip. Dictionary attacks still happen. Which means most systems should use a 3strikes and you are out for 15mins programming rule.
7. Think long – but not too long. Password problems are directly proportional to the length of passwords. As password length increases – so do support and system help calls.
8. Automate password changes. Good tip, but be sure to lay in more customer support personnel on the days you force password changes. Sally in accounting is sure to call with password problems. Be sure to lay in more training for your support personnel, because as calls increase, so do social engineering related hacker calls.
9. Educate staff. Deja vu.
10. Look to the future such as biometrics and two-factor authentication. That’s great – beam me up Mr. Scott. Fact: real world biometrics are 5-10 years away. Today’s finger print scanners have a high failure rate and are not workable in the real world. The closest we have are the retinal eye scanners. They have quite a r&d cycle to go before ready. They run as high as a 25% failure rates right now, but the future looks very bright for them. They might also be combine with health scanners to spot the early onset of eye diseases.

Warning – software plug: I use SplashID for desktop and for my phone. Works great…

-bt

… For my birthday I got a humidifier and a dehumidifier. I put them in the same room and let them fight it out.

Whew, finally have dug out from the onslaught of work that was Pubcon Boston.

What a great conference it was. The blogging session was my favorite I think. Setting in with Matt and Robert, and Jeremy was like being allowed to listen in on a private conversation between the three of them. Funny thing was that Robert barely made it to the conference. The cab driver took him to the wrong convention center.

Attendee numbers were on par with last years New Orleans conference. We really had to fight for it thought with the proximity to Easter and the other big conferences going on at the same time.

Special thanks to Malcolm Gladwell for helping with charity book signing. Together we raised nearly $3000 for charity.

Brett

… It doesn’t matter what temperature a room is, it’s always room temperature.