If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Read my top posts or learn more about Michael Gray. Want more frequent updates follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!
Last week I attended the SMX Social Media Conference in Long Beach California, here are some of my thoughts about the event.
SMX Social Media 2008 Recap »
Sphere ItIf you’ve ever wondered hey why should I go an SEO conference what the heck am I going to get out of it check out this interview with Gab Goldenberg, Sugarrae, Stuntdubl and myself from SMX West.
I had never met Gab before that afternoon, but he came across as nice guy, he didnt violate any of the SEO Conference Douchebag guidelines, and he ended up getting a decent interview, and A LOT of good information. He did the networking thing just right. So c’mon are you going to register for SMX Social or SMX advanced and start making conferences work for you?
SIDE NOTE
I’m not sure if this is confirmation I may have moved off Matt Cutt’s bad guy spammer list as he’s not mock throttling me in this picture … nah couldn’t be 
Sphere ItSince I had some emails and phone calls of people looking to meet with me at the last show which I didn’t attend I thought I’d let you know where I’ll be next …
Aprill 11th - Jim Boykin of We Build Pages is running SEO Class now and I’ll be speaking on April 11th with a lot of other folks. If you’ve been to bigger shows and looking to take it to your knowledge to a more intimate level these smaller events are the place to do it.
April 22-23rd - I’ll be speaking SMX Social in Long Beach California. if you’re looking to get into social media, meet some of the key players, power users, and find out how to make social media work for you, this is the place to be. Don’t think it’s worth it … I was able to give Shoemoney some ideas last SMX show and get him started using twitter. Picking up a bar tab is always a great way to get someones attention in a good way …
I haven’t nailed down any summer and fall speaking arrangements yet, but I’ll let you know when I do …
Sphere ItOn March 18th the Internet Marketers of New York held our charity event and it was huge success. Thanks to BOTW and Search Engine Land for stepping up and covering the tab and donating door prizes. With their support we were able to raise over $16,000 which will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Also thanks to Search Engine Strategies for donating tickets to upcoming venues as prizes, to everyone who donated at the door, and to the other IMNY members who helped keep things running and for their generous support.
Sphere ItSo lots of people have been emailing or IM’ing me asking if I’m going to be at SES NY next week, and the answer is no. I could come up with any number of believable excuses, but the truth is I wasn’t invited back to speak. I don’t know what my evaluation numbers were from NY last year, but of the two sessions I presented at in San Jose I was rated 4.0 and 4.5 out of a possible 5. In addition my “Google is not the Government” speech was the most talked about session of the entire conference, and I got positive reviews from everyone who attended. I won’t lie, I like to speak, I like to inform and educate, and I like to entertain, but if SES wants to go in another direction, that’s their decision to make. However after reviewing the SES agenda today I have to say I’m pretty disappointed in that new direction.
Take a look at the agenda for day #2 between 3:15 and 4:30
Notice something … each and every one of those 5 sessions is a sponsored session where an advertiser paid money to get on that panel and speak. The worst part is because SES NY stacked the deck, you as a conference goer can’t avoid them. In the tradition of Henry Ford “You can go to any session you want as long as it’s from a paid advertiser”.
For those of you who missed it here’s what that means, SES NY is willing to bypass highly rated speakers who aren’t afraid to pull punches, on controversial subjects that affect our industry. Instead they want to force conference attendees to sit through paid meatball sundae sales pitches. < sarcasm > I can hardly contain my enthusiasm < / sarcasm> .
Sorry SES in my book you’re no longer leading the industry, in fact you’ve taken a giant step towards becoming irrelevant.
Sphere ItLast week I was at the SMX West Search Marketing Conference, and I thought I’d share a few thoughts about the conference.
SMX Wrap Up and After Thoughts »
Sphere ItSo my buddies Jeremy and Aaron have got the elite retreat conference back off the ground and are holding one April 3rd and 4th in San Francisco. While I haven’t been to an elite retreat I have talked with a few people who have, and they’ve had nothing but good things to say about it, for an in depth review check out Wendy Piersall’s review from last year.
Sphere ItSince I am now smartphone equipped I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to roll like a rockstar test how powerful a smart phone is ,and if I could live/work/function without a computer for two days while at SMX social.
Attending a Conference Without a Laptop »
Sphere ItEarlier this week I went to SMX social, and here’s my take on the conference …
SMX Social Teaching an Old Dog Some New Tricks »
Sphere ItI’m going to be at SMX social next week so expect posting to be lighter than usual. If you’re thinking of going I hear there’s only about 20 spots left, so go register and you can use this discount code SMX10offSM to save 10% off the registration price. I’m speaking on the bookmarking panel but the show is chock full of good stuff check out the agenda. As this is much smaller venue it’s going to be much easier to score some face time with that presenter you have a hard time finding at the big shows, and if you’re playing the social game or want to start, this is definitely the spot you want to be.
Sphere ItI got back from SMX Advanced late Wednesday night, and while I’ll spend the next few days playing catch up here are some of my overall impressions of the conference.
Sphere ItDouglas Karr sent me a question that I get asked pretty often so I thought I’d share it with you here:
Can W3C compliance and accessibility impact your Search Engine Optimization?
Does W3C compliance and accessibility impact your Search Engine Optimization »
Sphere ItSince it’s been over 48 hours since the last what are your 5 favorite toothpaste flavors meme I think I’m safe to start a new one. However this one’s going to be a bit different.
Sphere ItHere are some things you may have missed from the week ending 4-27-2007
Things You May have Missed 4-29-2007 »
Sphere ItJust a quick note I’ll be speaking at the upcoming SMX Advanced conference this June in Seattle. I’m on the Personalized Search Fear or Not panel. Last time Matt Cutts and I had an impromptu debate was at Pubcon last year regarding the site review session, and had a lot fun. Not everybody likes my straight forward style, but hey I’m all about making things interesting. I’m also looking forward to finally meeting Gord Hotchkiss in person since we’ve blog debated personalized search before.
What you need more here’s 9 more reasons to attend SMX, so get off yer butt and go register.
Sphere ItGenerally speaking it’s a good idea to include keywords in your url structure whenever possible, however there are some instances when using an alternative method is more desirable.
Reasons Not to Use Keywords in Your URL’s »
Sphere ItHere’s an interview I did with Adriaan Pienaar over on ADII, where I talk about blogs, web 2.0, SEO and where my nickname came from, so go check it out.
we’ȑ
Sphere ItOne of the reasons for my light blogging this week is we’ve been putting some finishing touches on our upcoming two day SEO Workshop over at SEO Class.
We’ve got a special offer we’re offering $500 off the registration price for anyone who registers between now and May 4th. What do you have to do to qualify for this special offer, just say “graywolf sent me” in the extra notes section and we’ll take the discount off the registration price.
If you’re wondering what it’s about check out the SEO workshop wrap up or check out some of the testimonials as well as a review from one of our past attendees.
Here’s the details:
When: May 17-18 2007
Where: New York Helmsley Hotel Manhattan, New York
Cost: $2999 (40% discount on second attendee from same company)
How: Register Now
And if you want a discount be sure to mention graywolf sent me in the extra notes section of your registration.
Sphere ItSince I received a few ‘hey are you ok it’s been more than 2 days since you blogged emails’ Thought I’d let you know I’m alive and doing well just buried under a mountain of work with some looming deadlines.
I was also just appointed moderator of the Social Media Tagging and Bookmarking Optimization forum at WebmasterWorld. It’s a new forum and it’s just getting off the ground, but feel free to stop by and post your questions or comments.
I’ve been a member on WMW since 2002 when I wandered into to ASP forum with some noob questions and some helpful folks set me straight. I can also say that WMW was a very big part of helping me learn the skills I needed to leave my 9 to 5 day job and go out on my own, so I’m glad to be in a position where I can hopefully do the same for others.
Tags: wmw, webmasterworld, seo, social bookmarking
Sphere ItHere’s a list of some interesting posts you may have missed from 4-22-2007
Things You May Have Missed 4-22-2007 »
Sphere ItOver the past few months I’ve had more than one client ask me my opinion about Endless.com Amazon’s new shoe shopping site. Since Rae talked about Endless and Danielle gave an Endless review I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share some of what I saw, what I liked and what I didn’t.
A Technical SEO’s Look at Endless.com »
Sphere ItFine since Matt started this whole thing on hiding links and how people do it in really silly ways like putting nonsense in the onMouseOver WindowStatus I thought why not have a little fun and throw out a nice tip on how to mask your affiliate links.
How to Be Crafty and Mask Affiliate Links »
Sphere ItWe’re adding a new article series over at the SEO Class Blog where we’ll be answering your Search Engine Optimization questions.
Sphere ItThere’s a famous saying that if you put enough chimpanzees in front of enough typewriters eventually you’ll end up with the works of William Shakespeare. However it’s seem the largest collection PHD’s in the world at Google are having a really hard time identifying paid links and have to resort to a bit of bluffing, and creating FUD to acomplish their goals.
How Can So Many PHD’s Be So Wrong »
Sphere ItChris Sherman
Eric Papczun, Perfomrmics
Sherwood Stranieri
Gregory Markel, Infuse Creative
Sphere It
You are currently browsing the archives for the conference category.
