Last week, the Search Buzz Roundup was primarily replaced by our conference coverage (and the awesome Google Dance). But now we're back to the daily grind (and us RustyBrick folks are at it on Monday as well, so you all have a nice Labor Day and don't forget about us... we'll be reporting here too).
So what has happened in the last two weeks of search? Ah, let's see.
Google and DMOZ and Shoemoney and Corruption Google has updated DMOZ, but then Shoemoney got extorted by one of the editors for $5,000. After that, Joost de Valk, a DMOZ editor (well, former editor), decided to look into what happened and his account was disabled. So the question is: if Google is not evil, why put so much emphasis on a truly corrupt directory?
Cre8asite Forums Turns 5
Last week, Cre8asite Forums turned five years old. Can you believe that? In honor of their 5th anniversary, you should join if you haven't already!
Microsoft Launched ContentAds for All Advertisers
Users advertising with Microsoft are now all opted into ContentAds. This went into effect two days ago, so if you want to opt out, visit the Microsoft ContentAds page.
YouTube Looks to Monetize
Barry reports during SES San Jose that you'll soon see ads appearing in YouTube videos. I guess it was about time given that other video providers do this, but I hope that the content providers get a percentage of the revenue. I believe that's going to happen -- and it's user initiated. Cool.
Yahoo, Google Search Updates
Yahoo Search was updated last week with the bot behavior being more polite and traffic increasing (or decreasing, depending on the particular person). Ultimately, people are displeased with the behavior of Slurp, so let's see what happens.
Google users have also noticed a surged of dropped links in the index. But the traffic is the same. What will the long term impacts be? Patience, my friend. :)
Map Embedding Now Possible with Google Maps
I love this feature. Google is now allowing you to easily -- without using the API -- to integrate maps into your website. I'm not fond of programming so much, so this is incredibly awesome.
Microsoft Webmaster Central Coming Soon
Great news for everyone: Microsoft has announced that they will be launching a webmaster portal for all of us who have really wanted it. Sweet!
Google Gets Sued Again
American Airlines is suing Google over trademarked AdWords. Good luck to both.
Microsoft Launches Tafiti Search
Microsoft launched Tafiti, a Silverlight-based search engine, last week. You can save your searches in little boxes on the right hand side, but a lot of people wonder if it's more than just eye candy. To me, it looks like a way to sell Silverlight to the masses, but I'm not sure how many people are heading that direction.
Congratulations JohnMu!
As an active participant in Google Groups, JohnMu has been asked to join Google's team in Switzerland. JohnMu has been a huge contributor to the forums and Google is very lucky to have him. Nice!
Search Pulse is Back!
After a long hiatus, Barry and Chris did the Search Pulse live at SES San Jose last week (and even though I'm in the picture, I didn't get to say more than a "hello." This week, Ben came back, so you can hear Ben, Chris, and Barry as well.
Bloglines Goes Beta
Bloglines has launched an awesome AJAX-based beta feed reader. There are some shortcomings, but it really is still in beta. I know they're still working on it. Overall, however, it's nice!
AdSense for All Sites Available to Everyone
Google AdSense has enabled you to specify which sites should display your ads so that people do not steal your publisher ID on their site. That's pretty cool as long as it doesn't get taken away again. It's back now so don't worry!
Google Dropped the Current Time Search Operator
Google apparently dropped the time operator and now you cannot see the time in a variety of locations. Matt Cutts writes in the comments that it is a temporary issue and that it should be working again soon.
Search Suggest by Yahoo is Launched in the UK
UK members are more privy to cool new Yahoo features than us American people. That's the case for Yahoo Search Suggest which was rolled out in the UK.
You Can Ban Google in AdSense
Using AdSense, you can ban Google by going to the competitive ad filter and adding google.com there. How many of you out there are going to try that?
And with my tip about reporting AdSense-monetized splogs, how many of you are going to report them? We did two yesterday and we have many more coming. I'll report on the results later.
GoogleGuy Disappears, Returns
Barry wondered aloud yesterday and asked where GoogleGuy has been. After all, it's been over a year since GoogleGuy posted on WebmasterWorld. Fortunately, GoogleGuy returned and said hello today. He must be reading Search Engine Roundtable. I'm proud of him. High five!
Yahoo Search Marketing Launches Features
The YSM team has launched some cool features, enabling enhancements to create ads, providing information about low quality ads, and giving the ability to optimize your campaign, among other features. The only downside is that the minimum bid is now $30, but overall, advertisers look happy.
Have a great Labor Day everyone! Have a picnic for me (with Kosher hot dogs!) Be sure to check Search Engine Roundtable on Monday to see our Labor Day theme!
