Three days ago I reported Google hired SEOs as their latest Google Webmaster Trends Analysts. Well, within two days, they are already helping webmasters in the Google forums.
Gary Illyes started what it seems a week ago today in the Google News Help forums. His old name in the support forums was method, so it seems like he has abandoned that name. Gary was very very helpful in the Google News Help forums and other forums. But now he is officially a Googler and helping people for a fee.
Pierre Far started posting yesterday under his name. His first post was in the Google Webmaster Help forum and it was just a post to introduce himself. He said:
My name is Pierre Far. I recently joined Google as a Webmaster Trends Analyst, the same team as Susan, Jonathan and John. Some of you might know me from other places as eKstreme.I'm here to help the Google team help you better: More hands to get your questions answered and more ears to listen to your feedback about our tools and help pages, all to improving your understanding of your websites.
A bit about me: I've been doing this web thing for over 12 years now, starting like any other beginner and working through it. I'm a self-taught SEO and programmer, PHP being my weapon of choice these days.
If you're really keen to learn more, my personal site is http://www.pierrefar.com/ and my irregularly-updated blog at http://ekstreme.com/thingsofsorts/ , but please do not contact me there for topics that are better suited for these forums.
Welcome new Googlers! I told you I'd be watching you.
Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.