“Search Engine World” returns to normal… almost

Well, only about a week after I posted the article about Cuil, and to be fair so did everyone else… it seems as though the much-vaunted, and hugely-hyped Cuil Search Engine has slid back in relative obscurity. Not totally gone mind you, but the “Search Engine World’s” pecking order has been officially re-established, with Google assuming its undaunted role as top of the search pile…

The online research and marketing company, Hitwise, has confirmed that after Cuil’s initial launch which caused the sites ranking and traffic to spike dramatically to around 106 (in most trafficked sites), over the past week or two the traffic has dropped off quite dramatically… down to 1034th in traffic and to number 34 in terms of Search Engines… So yes, I suppose one could say Cuil has almost come and gone…

Cuil’s impact was noted however, buoyed by a lot of media spend on traditional as well as online channels, as well as a HUGE amount of online buzz marketing, Cuil has shown the world that it is possible to take a “pot” at the mighty Google. Granted it’s going to take a large amount of money, technology and some serious “balls”, but even having all these factors in place, it is still a HUGE ask, so maybe we are just going to have to leave it to the seriously BIG players to slug it out (read: Microsoft)…

Must say, it is kind of sad that the hype has died and Cuil is just back to being one of those “other search engines”, the world of search was just starting to get interesting again…

The world of search has just got more interesting…

So during this past week, on Monday to be exact, the search engine world received another contender in the search stakes… “So what?” you may say… Many have come and gone, with only a few sticking around, and none of them have come even close to dethroning the search prowess and efficiency of Google.

Well… none until now… ok, ok, hold your laughter and hear me out.

Cuil.com is a new search engine that has its sights on challenging Google, and many industry insiders believe they may well have a slim chance of doing so too…

Reasons for this stem from the following facts:

They claim to have the biggest search index on the planet. With more than 3 times the web index of Google and more than 10times that of Microsoft, nothing to scoff at and definitely something that made me sit-up.

Along with this massive index, they have a unique way of displaying results (in a news like format with 3 columns and images),  and also have a slightly different outlook on indexing and displaying results (more on this in a future post).

Along with these unique way of displaying and indexing, they have another huge advantage over any other contenders to the search crown… quite simply they have a management and development team that have worked at Google and every other major search company, and know what it takes to be the best…

I did quite a few test searches with Cuil and I must admit that it returned really good results. Whether they were better or worse than results from Google, I am not sure, I suppose it depends on the query and the needs of the person doing the search.

Cuil does seem to understand the different meaning of words, the fact that one word could mean the same for different things and people. As an example, if you search for “proteas” then Cuil will return results for the flower, the nickname of the South African cricket team , gardening tips and then companies with that word in the name on the their results pages. Pretty cool

This knowledge and skill, partnered with a huge amount of financial backing, makes for a potent search force and only time will tell if it really will give Google a run for its money.

However, there is clearly a lot more to search than having a the largest index and great search results… If that was the only measurment criteria then surely Yahoo would have a much bigger share of the search market?

Watch what you blog…

As a fairly active blogger, I am always always quite impressed by the fact that ones opinion (or blog) can be readily accessible and also deemed as quite important… especially for those of us without any formal writing experience or training Free speech at work… got to love it!

But then, every now and then, an article gets posted that makes all bloggers sit up and take notice… and no, this is not an article about Google putting a man on the moon, or Microsoft funding the first manned flight to Jupiter… but rather something a lot more alarming that affects the very thing that many of us would-be “writers” (read bloggers) do on a daily basis… and that is being liable and accountable for what we write, and possibly even being thrown in jail for it! Yup, writing on a blog could land you in prison…

This article on the ABC News website, really made me sit up and start thinking a little more about what I write and especially who I write about.

The bottom line is that in the last 4 years, over 159 civil court actions have been taken against bloggers… with verdicts against bloggers ending up in cumulative penalties totalling $18.5 million!!! Yikes! Talk about clamping down on free speech… believe me, if I knew I was going to have to fork out a few million because of something I said, I would definitely start shutting up. And surely this reaction is the exact opposite reaction of what free speech, and hell, what the blogosphere is all about?!?!

Or maybe I am just overreacting… ? Well, read the article and let me know what you think.

Happy 30th Birthday Spam!

Man, 30 years already. and to think it all started with an unsolicited message that was sent to 600 people over 30 years ago by a Direct Marketer. And now it is the hourly bane of most of our Inboxes!

I stumbled across this funny article on AdLand, a true “tongue-in-cheek” salute to Spam Read it here.

It’s almost that time of year again.

Yup, the day is around the corner. the day most internet addicts, computer junkies and gaming afficionados hate. Shutdown Day!!

Well, that’s if you sign up of course

Shutdown Day is a massive global experiment to spread awareness about the pitfalls of excessive use and abuse of computers and Internet. And, to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if everyone participates.

Interested? Well then click-on over to http://www.shutdownday.org and pledge your support!

And no, I seriously doubt I will be signing up

Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer ?

Death by Blogging, Going Green and some groovy Interactive Ad Campaigns…

Yup, this headline made me sit up too… While trawling the RSS feeds for bite-size chunks in interesting news, this article posted on the New York Times website really caught my eye. Reading it made me realise 2 things that guys who spend too much time online are either waaaay out of shape or that too much stress and pressure can be dangerous to your health… then again every job has pressure and stress, right?

There is an interesting blog post debunking this whole article though after reading this, I feel as though my online consumption habits are still within safe norms and I think am in no danger of “logging off” while hunched over my keyboard especially while doing something incongruous like blogging….

But just to make sure that I keep the pressure and stress off, I thought I would get involved in a greener and healthier online environment… Yup, to ease the daily pains (and to help your social conscience) visit and sign-up to Greenopolis. People band together online, to date, discuss politics or lose weight … this all happens in a community whose members help each other live in a more earth-friendly manner. Pretty cool!

See, don’t you feel better already…

And the, some cool news snippets from the advertising front, with the focus on Interactive of course

•  Louis Vuitton has launched an impressive “where will life take you” full marketing campaign. they have used an impressive list of celebrities to convey the message and emotion of the campaign.. Check it out here (click on the Core Values Film)
•  New York Pizza launched a series of ads on YouTube to promote their great pizza’s … great fun! Watch the series here
• And finally, when you have had enough… (http://www.dearagency.com/) – Definitely one of the more innovative ways that ad agency, citrus, lures prospective customers…

So… why the Blog?

Quite frankly, in the highly competitive world of online marketing, or eMarketing you have to have one… Blogging is a BIG contributor to the success of a website in the Search Engine Optimisation stakes, and in the Google Ranking game, any edge you have… helps!

As much as this Blog is a tool for SEO, I also created it to be a place where I can inform, educate and say what I wanna

On any given day, I stumble across a wealth of interesting information that I always want to share… and this has normally taken the form of an email newsletter or posting on an internal company blog. However, this excludes a fairly large portion of the mass market, and the 19 people who get my newsletter are probably suitably impressed or sick of it…

So here I am… in the mainstream blogosphere… where you can choose to read what I have to say… or not…

http://feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A//gmtacticians.wordpress.com/feed/

Well, Hello Mister Jack….

No not the whiskey… although I do enjoy a dram or two on occasion… the reference is more towards “Jack of All Trades” and “master of… some” and the wide range of skill-sets that I pedal online…

My “real” name is Nick de Klerk and I have spent the last 11 years working in the Online and Interactive environment, from running a Web Development company to helping build websites, multimedia disks and consulting to clients across a broad spectrum of industries, from hospitality concerns to motor manufacturers.

Over the last three years though, I have focused predominantly on online marketing with the objective of maximising exposure for clients online and then tying this in with above and below the line media… which I believe is essential when getting a creative message or call to action base delivered to the relevant target markets… And of course have some fun in doing it too!

The Online Environment, and in general, my career path came about by accident as I had to do an internship for my Marketing Diploma practical at a company and happened to start at a fledgling Web Development company as a salesman… This was my first exposure to it (way back in 1996) and from day one I was hooked… I suppose you could say the rest is history and have forged my career by moving in the interactive circles ever since. So there you have it… who I am and what I can do as well as my brief history, in a nutshell…

If you want to find out more about me, please visit my official website: www.gmtacticians.co.za