2009: A Look Back

Last Updated on Tuesday, 5 January 2010 12:11 Written by TheAutomator Thursday, 31 December 2009 05:56

2009 in Pictures & SEOmoz’s Seattle Meetup on Wednesday 1/6

Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 December 2009 09:51 Written by TheAutomator Wednesday, 30 December 2009 09:51

Posted by randfish

What a year! From traveling to software development, saying goodbye to old friends and growing the team with new ones, we've had a tremendously exciting 12 months at SEOmoz. To celebrate, next week, on Wednesday, January 6th 2010, we'll be hosting an informal meetup at the Elysian Brewery on Capitol Hill in Seattle, WA. Everyone from the Seattle technology, startup and SEO community is welcome to attend, and we'll be hosting a special guest, Distilled's Will Critchlow (who's chosen the worst possible time, weather-wise, to visit our fair city). Please RSVP via the Google form below! 

In addition to the meetup, I thought it would be appropriate (and fun) to celebrate the year with a look back in pictures. Enjoy!

SEOmoz's Mel Gray, Matt Heilman, Gillian Muessig, Nick Gerner, Sarah Bird & Mike Thompson at Seattle's Big Climb Event, raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The SEOmoz December holiday party at Olive8 - (Left to Right) Arden, Jimmy, Christine, Sarah, Ben Huff, Timmy, Gillian, Adam, Sam, Jen, Rand, Chas, Kate, Darren, Danny & Nick. Why did we all stuff into the dual showers? Umm... I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. You can watch our holiday video greeting and more holiday party photos on Facebook.

SEOmoz's Chas Williams and Sarah Bird won most festive attire at our holiday event.

Tony Adam (BillShrink), smiling next to his SEOmoz Werewolf/Search Spam card at Pubcon Las Vegas in November

Kristy Bolsinger (blog), Kate Morris (blog) & Matt Cutts (blog) at the SEOmoz Werewolf Party at Pubcon Las Vegas

Ben Hendrickson and Jen Lopez, attired in full moz regalia, carrying "link juice" by the SEOmoz booth at SMX Advanced in Seattle

Ben, Danny (with a mustache! - he's hidden so look real close), Chas, Scott & Timmy at lunch downstairs from SEOmoz's offices at the Elysian Brewery on Capitol Hill

Sarah Bird hard at work in our cramped conference room

Sometimes, when we have tough decisions to make and could go either way, we Roshambo. I lost this round, and we ended up spending $5K on some professional services in our search for a new VP of Engineering.

Aimclear's Marty Weintraub sent us a singing gorilla for the holidays. Tragically, I was out of town, but got to watch the video on Facebook :-)

At the beginning of the year, we had some construction work done on the office to help accomodate new arrivals

Mozzers hard at work in the conference room (and apparently freezing cold, too).

Ben Hendrickson explains ranking models and how we can "prove" H1 tags don't really matter for SEO

Rand, Sarah, and SEOmoz board member & investor, Michelle Goldberg at The Naked Truth (a startup event in Seattle). Leaning on my shoulder is Mystery Guest, who tragically forgot sunglasses (why didn't I give her mine?!)

The Conversion Rate Experts squirrel (yes, they have a mascot) at the SEOmoz/Distilled London PR) Training Seminar in October. Must check on progress of the SEOmoz Ring-tailed Lemur mascot costume.

Jon Kelly (Quinstreet), Tony Adam (Billshrink), Andy Liu (BuddyTV) and Neil Patel (Quicksprout) at SEOmoz's annual party after SMX Advanced in Seattle at the Garage (photo-bombing courtesy of Matt Cutts)

Rand on Hubspot TV with Mike Volpe in Hubspot's Boston offices (Rand: "My grandparents asked what channel I was going to be on.")

Rand is subsumed by Kristjan Mar Hauksson's (of Nordic eMarketing) gigantic Viking hands in an Icelandic ice bar in the capital, Reykjavik following RIMC 2009

Dixon Jones (Receptional), Adam Lasnik (Google) & Rand go glacier hiking in Iceland

Rand at Searchfest Portland with Anne Kennedy (BeyondInk) and Adam Audette (Audette Media) speaking about SEOmoz's history & future (apparently I was a bit more animated than most other folks) :-)

On a panel at SES London chaired by Mike Grehan (SES), Rand pictured with Brett Tabke (WebmasterWorld), Chris Sherman (Third Door Media), Jill Whalen (HighRankings) and Kevin Ryan (WebVisible)

Outside the Chicago Hilton for SES Chicago with Richard Zwicky (Enquisite), Bill Leake (Apogee), Aaron Kahlow (OMS)

Jane Copland (Ayima), Danny Dover, Rand & Richard Baxter (SEO Gadget) in London following the Distilled/SEOmoz PRO Training Seminar

Mystery Guest gives Rob Kerry (Ayima) a gift in London on our way back from lunch near the Ayima offices. ("Why is my love always a source of linkbait?" - MG)

Rand & Will Critchlow (Distilled), standing under their respective time zone clocks in Distilled's London offices.

Alexander Holl (blog), Rand, Sandra & Matthew Finlay (Rising Media), Marcus Tandler (Mediadonis)  at an SMX Munich party

Rand with Vanessa Fox (NineByBlue) & Mystery Guest in Bled, Slovenia for a day trip following SMX Munich

Rand & Mystery Guest join Nirav Tolia (Fanbase) for lunch in San Francisco during one of Rand's VC fundraising expeditions to the valley

Bob Rains (blog), Lawrence Coburn (Rateitall), Lauren Vaccarello (Salesforce), Todd Malicoat (Stuntdubl) and Donna Rains in a limo during a (loosely SEO related) wine tasting trip in Monterey, CA

Laura Lippay (blog), Mystery Guest, Vanessa Fox (NinebyBlue), Lauren Vaccarello (Salesforce) & Jessica Bowman (SEM in House) in San Francisco following the Jane & Robot conference

Rand, Tom Critchlow (Distilled), Ken Jurina (Epiar), Dharmesh Shah (OnStartups & Hubspot), David Mihm (blog), Matt Brown (Define Search Strategy), Danny Dover & Nick Gerner at the SEOmoz PRO Training Seattle

Mystery Guest homemade retro Star Trek outfits for Halloween this year (and got a wig + Vulcan ears to complete her ensemble)

Rand with his grandparents, Si & Pauline Fishkin at a Broadway musical following SMX East in New York City

Rand & Cindy Krum (Rank Mobile) tour Soho during SMX East in New York City

Left to Right: Rand, Greg Boser (3Dog Media), Barry Smyth (BSocial), Stephen Pavlovich (Conversion Rate Experts), Rob Kerry (Ayima), Aidan Beanland (Yahoo!7), Michael Motherwell (MMIT Search Australia), Bruce Clay (Bruce Clay, Inc), Greg Grothaus (Google)

The SEOmoz whiteboards in our conference room, showing off early concepts of new software (codenamed "Turbomoz") we're hoping to launch this coming June

Ciaran Norris (Mindshare) was interviewed by Channel 4 in the UK on social media, search & Rupert Murdoch's threats to shut off Google traffic. Tragically, he appeared garbed in naught save rags, and couldn't be bothered to properly attire with a cravatte. Credit to Jane Copland for the image capture.

 
Rand, with a traditional Colombian hat, a gift from Gustavo Parra (at right) pictured at SMX Advanced Seattle

The SEOmoz crew outside the Garage following our party at SMX Advanced

David Temple (SEM Scholar), Gillian Muessig and Barry Smyth (BSocial) at SMX Singapore

Jen Lopez at SMX Advanced with Michael Gray (Wolf Howl)

Oh, and just FYI, the photos above are in no particular chronological order.

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Broadening my Reading: 10 Sources I’ve Come to Love

Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 December 2009 04:32 Written by TheAutomator Tuesday, 29 December 2009 04:32

Posted by randfish

Historically, I've been fairly narrow in what I read in the blogosphere and tech arena (almost all SEO-centric stuff). You can see my Firefox sidebar list here, which  hasn't changed much since 2008 with the exception of the blogs and news sections. But, over the past 6 months, I've been broadening out considerably and found that it adds a great deal to the conversations I'm able to participate in and contribute to, especially as SEOmoz itself has expanded from the SEO world to the larger technology and startup world. For the New Year, I thought I'd share some of the sources that have contributed most on this front and some of my favorite posts/contributions from those sources.

#1 - Hacker News

(http://news.ycombinator.com)

I find more good stuff here than anywhere else, and the diversity is impressive, too. Tragically, Hacker News is also a place for lots of misinformation, fear, and loathing around SEO, but it's good to get a sense for how the rest of the technology world still views our niche. The signal to noise ratio is higher than on places like delicious/popular, the tech subreddit or Digg (which has become largely useless to tech professionals as its moved away from its roots).

A few items I've found via Hacker News include:

• Why everything you think about User Centered Design in Wrong
• On Self Promotion
• The death of the boring blog post

#2 - A VC

(http://www.avc.com)

Fred writes compelling pieces consistently, almost never gets preachy, is self-promotional in a highly credible and useful way and brings up topics I wouldn't have thought about without him. Most of us can't have Fred on our boards or as an investor, but we can get into his head via his blog and participating more in the comments there has been a priority of mine for a while (he's built a remarkable community in the comments).

Some favorite posts:

• Tenacity
• The "We Need to Own" Baloney
• Ten Characteristics of Great Companies

#3 - Chris Dixon

(http://cdixon.org)

Chris, like Fred, delivers crystal clear value propostions with his posts. And IMO, he's even higher signal to noise than Fred. I don't always agree with him on everything, but I like the way he thinks about problems, I like the ones he brings up and I think he has his finger intensely on the pulse of what startups and technologists (and technical marketers like SEOs) are thinking about and dealing with. It's a pleasure to see a new post from Chris - here's to hoping he makes many more in 2010.

Some favorites include:

• Why the web will continue to grow rapidly
• Man and superman
• Software patents should be abolished

#4 - Techmeme

(http://techmeme.com)

Techmeme is an obvious choice, but it's also critical to the list. If it weren't for Techmeme, I'd have to wade through ReadWriteWeb, Mashable and Techcrunch post-by-post, every day. Don't ever leave us, Gabe.

No specific posts here - there's far too many to name, and the site updates much too quickly for me to even recall all the great stuff I've found here. However, I will say that I highly recommend m.techmeme.com for mobile browsing. It's been a joy to scroll through every time my wife takes extra-long in the dressing room at Anthropologie.

#5 - Answers On Startups

(http://answers.onstartups.com)

Launched just this past October, Answers On Startups has become a haven for learning more about the challenges, issues and questions entrepreneurs face in the technology world. I've recommended it before, and early on participated heavily (and I'd like to do more of that in the future), but if you're seeking answers from highly authoritative folks in a scalable fashion, this is the spot. I'm really impressed by the quality of many contributions there - the signal to noise is pretty exceptional.

Some of the best include:

• What's more important: release fast or getting it right?
• Free Trial vs. Freemium
• Qualities/skills of a CEO

#6 - Daring Fireball

(http://daringfireball.net)

In my ideal world, 5 years from now, when I've been put out to pasture by someone smarter and more capable, or bought out :-) I'd have a blog like this. Some entries are just links, some are lengthy and thoughtful and all are interesting and worth reading. Author John Gruber also brings a remarkably diverse range of topics to the site and yet somehow, signal to noise remains high.

A few recent picks:

• Google's Meaning of Open (a short, but flawless skewering)
• The Next iPhone
• A Liberal, Accurate Regex Pattern for Matching URLs

#7 - Steve Blank

(http://steveblank.com)

A few of Steve's posts are not only relevant, but serve to actually change direction in the executive ranks here at SEOmoz. That's high praise, but if you read the blog, you'll see what I mean. Steve's been there, and his experiences run in shocking parallel to the issues we face or worry about on a regular basis. Even when I disagree with points, the logic and thought he puts into the post makes for a great read and a hard think.

Some of his best:

• The Elves Leave Middle Earth - Sodas are No Longer Free
• Lies Entrepreneurs Tell Themselves
• Good Enough Decision Making

#8 - NYTimes Most Emailed

(http://www.nytimes.com/gst/mostemailed.html)

Despite the financial and institutional problems they face, the NYTimes still puts out absolutely phenomenal content on nearly every area of life. From cooking to politics, travel to health, there is amazing material to be found in the Grey Lady, and the Most Emailed list is the place to find the best of the best.

Some favorites:

• Twitter Chatter During the Superbowl (I love their interactive graphics)
• Using Menu Psychology to Entice Diners
• Google Keeps Tweaking its Search Engine
• 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do (Part 1)

#9 - Venture Hacks

(http://venturehacks.com)

 When I was out trying to raise a second round of VC this summer (big mistake - more on that in a future post), Venturehacks' historic content was invaluable. However, visiting the site made me realize how much good stuff there is that doesn't apply only to those currently raising money. They've got some seriously great writers/contributors, invaluable interviews and tackle tough subjects.

My personal favorites recently included:

• 10 Skills I look for before writing a check
• How to develop your customers like you develop your product
• The Arrogant VC: Why VCs are disliked by entrepreneurs

#10 - Twittersphere

(http://twittersphere.com)

Since they don't publish archives (the most frustrating feature), I'm unable to show off just how cool this site is and has been over the last few months, but just try visiting a couple times a day for the next few weeks and you'll see. It's remarkable how much good stuff gets re-tweeted (and how much junk - signal to noise is about 15%, which is still decent since it's easy to skim and consume at will). You can also get a sense for how important Twitter's link graph is to the engines through Twittersphere - a lot of pages that have 0 links will have thousands of tweets pretty fast.

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