The Big Wave Blog

Aloha, readers!

We would like to wish our readers a very happy 4th of July weekend and hope you have a great time with your friends and family. Things are going great for us here on the North Shore of Hawaii and some interesting articles and photos are on their way.

Independence Day made me think of the joy of being free. Here is a lighthearted look at some things I would like freedom from in the coming year:

1. Web Spam
   The web was made to exchange meaningful information. Along came the search engines, and sorting and arranging of all this information started. What failed to keep pace with this massive indexing was the creation of meaningful content. What did keep up: websites that infect you with Malware, misguide you into buying stuff you don’t need, spread spam, and cheat search engines into getting top placement.
2. McDonalds-ization of Search Marketing
   • “29.99 for registration in 3000 directories!”
   • “Would you like a side order of PPC with your SEO campaign?”
   • “How about biggie size link-building for just a few dollars more?”
   • “Welcome, you are our 3000th client! We have done work for every Tom, Dick and Harry out there, and today is your lucky day.”

   The search marketing sector is still the cheapest form of marketing out there. We don’t need to drop our pants any further!

3. Search Marketing Celebrities
   I work with some of the top minds in this industry, but you don’t see them gallivanting around in Cinderella shoes at conferences or blogging away about things they don’t know. The search marketing industry has a robust lineup of Paris Hiltons whose only contribution is showing up at events. The real heroes in this business are the ones quietly doing the real work.
4. PR Agencies Hard-Selling Old Media
   Marketing types that still sell old media and tell clients to “forget about the Google thingy.” Ignoring search marketing in 2008 is like not seeing the really big pink elephant sitting in your living room having cookies. The “search-free” marketing campaigns need to go.
5. Mis- Guarantee Squads
   The “results visible in 1- 2 weeks, #1 guaranteed placement” guys. I have never guaranteed # 1 placement to anyone in my career. Even when I knew in my gut that the client was bound to quickly dominate the search engine rankings, I have always refrained from handing out Guarantees. These days I am very careful even to give a 2-3 month minimum for a PPC campaign, let alone a SEO campaign.

I’m sure there are some things all of you would also like to escape from… let me know what I’ve left out of my list. And have a great weekend!

A big aloha to our readers!

The Big Wave Blog team is heading out to Hawaii tomorrow to start work on a super secret project! This will be our first return trip to the islands since we launched the blog from Waikiki last December, and we are very happy to have exciting new work to do there.

Just because we will be working on one of the most isolated land masses on the planet does not mean there will be no news. Stay tuned for more news and updates on the ever-changing search marketing industry, plus the usual funny stuff we like to share.

Next post from the beach…

Every once in a while, I capture some photos that say a thousand words and really help capture the emotion that an industry is feeling toward a brand.

Here are two photos taken within 60 seconds on the SMX Seattle trade show floor that reflect the public sentiment.

• Question: How many system crashes does it take for someone to switch from a new, fully loaded Vista PC to a Mac, or vow to stay with XP forever?
• Answer: 2

The way Vista (AKA “Longhorn”) has gone about crashing PCs, making them painfully slow or worse (DEAD) makes me think of Star Trek, with Dr. McCoy saying, “He’s dead, Jim!” over and over again!

The Warning Signs… or Hope Is for Sissies

I have always been a diehard PC guy. I liked that PCs were cheap and reliable, and I was extremely comfortable with Microsoft operating systems (especially Windows XP). I never thought Microsoft would go so wrong with Vista, after all the years of hard work and delays.

First there were rumors here and there that Vista was not working properly. Then came news of noncompatibility with numerous hardware and software programs. I still went on hoping… after all, stability came to the XP platform after Service Pack 2.

The Downfall… or Vista Strikes Evision

Nobody cares about suffering until the enemy is at the gates. In my case, our company had 2 Vista crashes within the same month. Now the news about Vista being a disaster were not “rumors” anymore. Alas, like a plague of the industrial age, Vista had my office in its grip.

The Aftermath… or Good News for Apple

With all the technology intellect floating around in our offices, we could not save the two machines: one was returned (after many wasted hours trying to reinstall the system) and the other is running XP.

My partners and I decided against getting any new computers that use Vista. As a result, my 2 partners have each bought a MacBook over the past few months, something they never would have considered if not for Vista.

Now imagine all the Vista-loaded computers that were shipped to non-computer-savvy people. They have as much right to use computers as any of us. Imagine the horror and disappointment when they cannot get anything to work properly on a brand new computer they just bought.

What Next?

Microsoft is phasing out the XP operating system on June 30. Here is a link to the petition to save XP. It is one of Microsoft’s most reliable operating systems, yet they are pulling the plug on it before providing a stable replacement option.

On the bright side, there is a HUGE opportunity… for Apple to come into the corporate and business market and promote its Mac series. Mac sales have seen a 51% year over year growth! Anyone think that Vista should get credit for it? Now would be a good time for Apple to send some cupcakes to the Vista developing team with THANK$! written on each one!

Helen Keller may have been referring to Microsoft when she famously quoted, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all — the apathy of human beings.”