After Search Engine Journal announced their annual Search Blog Awards, I took a look back at the year and thought about all of the changes (good and bad) and the new things that have happened this year.
I had the pleasure to meet some of the people that I have looked up to and listened to for years. Here’s the list of people that I was fortunate to meet this year:
Bill Slawski – SEO by the Sea – SES San Jose
Matt Cutts – Google Engineer – SES San Jose
Eric Ward – Link Guru – SES San Jose
Mike Grehan – Link Master – SES San Jose
Debra Mastaler – Link Marketing – SES San Jose
Daniel Jenkins – CometQuery – not in person
People that I listen to (no particular order and include the people listed above):
Andy Beal
Danny Sullivan
Search Engine Roundtable
Search Engine Land
Search Engine Watch
John Battelle
Pandia
Search Engine Journal
Aaron Wall
Rand Fishkin
Jeremy Schoemaker
These are a Few of My Favorite Things from 2006:
Atlas Travel Search – a challenge and a joy, but by far the most fruitful project since Atlas Travel Directory (2005).
Blogging – I know, my blog has been out there since October 2004, but I never really took it seriously. It was really only in August that I started taking advantage of posting on a regular basis.
Socialization has never been a priority, or really a concern, for me. I don’t have many friends, not because I don’t want them, but I am a very task oriented person. So without a plan, its hard to get me involved. I don’t live in the moment, I am always looking weeks, months or even years down the road. I looked at blogging as a social function.
This year it has become more than that! Instead of forgetting about ideas or writing them down to loose them, I have used my blog as a journal of sorts. The other great thing about blogging (for me), I get to think and discuss concepts (my wife isn’t interested and no kids, so my blog is where it comes out), even if that means discussing them with myself.
Google Reader – this is how I keep track of what is going on. Reader has become my personal news source. There are very few things that have become so important to me in a short period of time, something that I am not sure how I did without! The last one, cell phone, I live on my cell, literally. My wife and I both have had cell phones for over ten years, and for the last eight, we haven’t had a land line. Ever since high-speed access was available in my area.
I keep up with about 60 really important (to me) feeds and it helps me stay connected.
Trip2Earth.com – a new platform, at work, that will enable us to expand and grow at a greater pace than our competitors. Plus, it will be leading us into a new intranet for the year ahead.
Things that I want to do in 2007:
Attend another SES conference (highly recommended)
Attend the first SMX conference
Finish my degree (University of Central Florida, April 2007)
2006 has been a great year and the new year looks to be even more exciting. I look forward to being a positive voice in the SEO community and do what I can to explain things in a realistic language.
Thank you all for the support this year and I can’t wait to get the new year started!
Related Posts >>
- 2006 Search Blogs Awards – Let the Voting Begin
- Google’s Webmaster Central Reflects on 2006
- Let the Holidays Begin!
- 2006 Search Blogs Awards
- Updated Google Reader Review
