Daily Search Coverage:

Happy Hot Dog day! Small business giving up on Google? More porn in Google. Google cache delayed? Google might buy Digg. Google does government search. Google's content network isn't that bad. Patents might disappear? Google Logo, the video. Click fraud holds steady. The BBB calls Google unsatisfactory. Live QnA updates.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Happy Hot Dog Day
2. Are Small Businesses Giving Up on Google AdWords?
3. More Inappropriate Images Popping Up in Google Web Search
4. Google's Cache Database Back On Track?
5. Will Google Buy Social News Site Digg for $200 Million?
6. Google's Governmental Search Engine: Uncle Sam
7. The Google Content Network: Not That Bad After All
8. Will Stricter Laws Regarding Software Patents Nullify Search Algorithms and Google PageRank?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. The Google Logos Video
2. Click Fraud Rate Mostly Unchanged, Says Click Forensics
3. The Better Business Bureaus Rates Google As "Unsatisfactory"
4. Live QnA Adds Features & Firefox 3 Support
5. Now Google Searches For "Educating" Not Safe For Family Viewing

Daily Link Finds:

This is the July 23rd, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for July 23rd, 2008:

• Google Maps Adds Walking Directions, Exercise Plans and Diets
• Google Maps Adds Walking Directions, Bad Neighbourhood Caution, Gizmodo Australia
• Google Maps Now Helps You Stroll to Your Destination, Maximum PC
• Google Maps Walking Directions Live , www.goorank.com
• Google Maps Walking Directions Live, Google Blogoscoped
• Google Maps: Google Maps Adds Walking Directions, lifehacker.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 22, 2008, Search Engine Land
• SEO Headlines, BruceClay.com
• Tamar Weinberg 1 of 5 interviews with Austincast.com, blip.tv
• Are small businesses dropping out of AdWords?, MindValley
• Breakfast Links: July 23, 2008, Dane101
• Google Maps: Google Maps Adds Walking Directions, Bad Neighborhood Caution, Gizmodo
• Now Google Searches For "Educating" Not Safe For Family Viewing, Search Engine Land
• Walking Directions For Google Maps Is Live, Smart SEO

As promised, I wanted to give you a preview of the iPhone Siddur application. I got it running on my phone, to test it. The icon was designed by our design and looks like this:

We need to make the "S" capital.

When you load it up by clicking on the icon, it defaults to the actual prayers. You can select the sect (only two right now):

Clicking deeper will then give you the actual options, morning, afternoon, evening, generic brachot, etc and then this is what an actual text looks like:

Yes, you can expand it by using the touch expand feature and you can change to landscape view.

That is all pretty standard stuff. The cool stuff I demo later, but here is a hint:

Siddur is what I showed above. Clicking on "Zmanim" will automatically figure out your location using the GPS tools. It will then figure out the various times you are allowed to say the specific prayers (earliest tallis, earliest teffila, mincha, etc.), automatically. And the "Mizrach" option is basically a compass, it will tell you which way is Jerusalem, so you know which way you should pray. That will come in handy when I go to conferences and I have no idea which way to stand.

I'll be showing off more previews soon, I hope.

Oh, I have a few more features in mind - that I won't be telling you just yet. But they will make this application a must have for all Jewish orthodox iPhone users.

I have been struggling on if I should write a blog post on the feeling I get that I am losing the deep connection I once had with the SEO industry. I know many of you might feel that even implying this, that you think I am crazy. But honestly, I use to know almost every little thing that was taking place in the industry that was public (and most non public) in nature.

As the industry grows, I have to take on more to be able to properly cover the growth of the industry. The more blogs I subscribe to, the more forum threads I need to read, the more stuff I need to write - leaves me with less time to "participate" in the industry I help document. Not participating as often as I like is sad. Heck, I don't even have the time to reply to most the comments left here or at the Search Engine Roundtable.

So why am I writing about this now and not a week or two ago? Well - Louis Gray wrote a blog post named Bloggers' Interactions With Readers Decrease With Prominence and showed this chart:

I would not classify myself as an "industry legend," I am extremely well read in the industry, but the only "legend" in this industry would likely be Danny Sullivan.

But I honestly feel like I just don't have the time anymore to do be "in the communication," like I once was. I now feel more like I am "reporting on the communication," without always being a part of it. Well, I am a part of it, but not as much as I once was. In the past few weeks I have been trying to be more part of the communication and I will continue to do so.

Louis Gray documents what are "interactions:"

• Allowing blog comments
• Responding to blog comments
• Commenting on FriendFeed about your blog
• Tweeting links to your blog posts
• Digging your blog
• Stumbling your blog
• Pimping your blog on others' blogs

Okay, I am not that bad where I do not allow comments - I do. But I am not always good with responding to them. I try so hard to comment at FriendFeed but I rarely do, I do have it set up to auto post to FriendFeed (but most people do that). I automatically Tweet my blog posts, and I do Tweet a few times a day outside of that. I only Digg my blog posts when they come up on my reader (yes, I subscribe to a site command on Digg). I never use Stumble, never. I rarely "pimp" my blog to individuals.

What I think I have learned from Louis's post is that I am currently a stage three blogger but I am just border line stage four. Louis says, "Two characteristics of Stage 3 bloggers also emerge: The sheer volume of readers makes keeping up with all of them impossible. A new kind of reader shows up, people who exhibit troll-like behavior."

Am I at that point, sometimes I do feel that way. "It's these two dynamics that cause some bloggers to head onto the next stage," explains Louis. But I do not want to head to the next stage - I do not want to lose my connection with the industry. I want to communicate, participate and be like it was three years ago. But is that even possible these days with the volume of bloggers, forums and social networking sites/apps out there?

Is it that there is too much? Or just different methods of participation then in the past? Or maybe it is both. Or maybe I am just crazy and I am participating more then most people and I should not worry about it.

We, RustyBrick, is now an iPhone developer, and the first thing we plan on releasing is a Siddur with a lot of cool features. A siddur is a Jewish prayer book. It is mostly built, but we have a few neat feature we want to add. I'll blog about that when it is live.

But we are having an issue. The computer that is running the code is bugging out when we try to connect the iPhone to it to load the app directly on the test iPhones. We get an error that reads, "XCRemoteIPhone isBigBear" - yea, descriptive.

Here is a picture:

We are not the only ones with this exact error, another developer posted this issue at Apple's Discussion Forums. I hope we get a response soon.

In the mean time, we keep developing. This Siddur is going to seriously rock.

Daily Search Coverage:

Google Maps does the walk. Google Webmaster Tools warns of bandwidth usage issues. Google may forgive but do they forget? Does size matter in SEO? Pagination haunts some webmasters. Give your clients a warranty. Microsoft adds imagery to Live Maps. It has been a sad week in the SEO industry.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Maps Now Has Walking Directions
2. Sadness In The Search Industry : Respect Each Other
3. Google Webmaster Tools Warns Of Spikes in Bandwidth Fees
4. Does Google Every Totally "Forgive" A Site For Being Penalized?
5. Does the Amount of Content Matter for SEO?
6. Dealing with Pagination for High Rankings
7. Give Your SEO Clients a Warranty!

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Microsoft Virtual Earth Adds New Imagery
2. Google Maps Walking Directions Now Live

Daily Link Finds:

This is the July 22nd, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for July 22nd, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 21, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Techmeme: Google Continues to Test Green Top Bar (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Roundtable), Techmeme
• Walking Directions in Google Maps, Darren Barefoot
• Google Gift, ankitrawat.com
• Google Maps for walkers, Microsoft Virtual Earth expand, News.com
• Google Maps launches walking directions, Bloggle
• Google Maps Launches Walking Directions, SitePoint Blogs
• Google Maps Walking Directions Now Live, Search Engine Land
• Google Penalties and Building Trust : Ongoing SEO Task?, Search Engine Journal
• SEO 101A, MatTheosis
• SEO Daily Reading -Issue 89, Raven SEO Tools
• Techmeme: Google Maps Now Has Walking Directions (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Roundtable), Techmeme
• Techmeme: Google Maps Walking Directions Now Live (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Land), Techmeme
• What are Leapfrogg reading this week? (8), FroggBlog

One thing I miss is the ability to tether my phone's internet connection to my laptop and use that as a way to connect to the Internet. I was legally able to do with with my Treo, Verizon and my MacBook Pro, without having to spend an additional $60 (it cost about $10 extra a month legally).

The Apple iPhone does not have a way for you to tether your phone to your laptop to use it as an Internet connection. Since I got the Apple iPhone, over a year ago, I also tacked on a Verizon Broadband card for $60, so I can fire up the Internet on my laptop. If the iPhone and AT&T allowed you to tether for even $45 more per month, that would make sense for me.

But there is now a way to do it, at least, illegally. Cre.ations.net has posted the details and the process includes:

- Jailbreak your iPhone 3G
- Install 3Proxy and Terminal
- Create an ad-hoc Wi-fi network using your laptop
- Join the network with your iPhone
- Find the iPhone's IP address
- Open Terminal and run the proxy program
- Open Safari on your iPhone and open a web page
- Configure your browser to use the proxy

Visit Cre.ations.net for more information but beware - I am personally not going this route.

Since starting at Search Engine Watch taking over for Gary Price to work as the News Editor with Danny Sullivan, I have been waking up pretty early to get all the blogging mostly done before the normal work day. This started about 2.5 years ago, and my typical day started with me getting up at 5:45 (now a bit earlier) and leaving the house by 6am.

This worked out well, since Danny was based in the UK. So he was up and about and he and I were compiling the news and stories very early in the AM. This pattern continued when we both left to start Search Engine Land But now that Danny has moved to the west coast, he now won't be around until much later.

RustyBrick is also more self-sufficient then it was a few years back. So I have less busy work with RB, and more creative work with it. So managing the blogging and "real work" during the day should be easier.

I am strongly considering waking up at 6am, and leaving the house by 6:20am. Then going to Jewish morning services at that time and ending up at work closer to 7am - as opposed to 6:30. In fact, I am hoping to then move that to a 7am wake up and 8am work start. I am not sure if I can stomach the "late" start - but I think I should give it a shot, at least the 20-30 minute delayed start.

Daily Search Coverage:

Check out my video recap. Google has a cookbook. Google goes green. Yahoo expands Quick Links. Google to index audio? Matt Cutts on video. More on Content ads. Google and their cache. Broken sites can rank well. American Airlines drops Google suit. Toolbar wont index your content. Icahn and Yahoo settle.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: July 20, 2008
2. Google Gives Long Time Advertisers The "Google Cookbook"
3. Google Continues to Test Green Top Bar
4. Yahoo's "Quick Links" Looking More Like Google's Sitelinks
5. Google To Start Indexing Audio Files as Text?
6. Video: Matt Cutts Talks About Spam
7. Microsoft Re-Announces ContentAds Pilot Program
8. Google Addresses Cache and Related Concerns
9. A Broken & Non-Functional Web Site Remains At The Top of Google

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. American Airlines And Google Settle Keyword Lawsuit
2. No, The Toolbar Does Not Lead Google To Index My Content
3. Icahn Settles With Yahoo, Joins Board

Daily Link Finds:

This is the July 21st, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for July 21st, 2008:

• Friday Recap, BruceClay.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 18, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Мифы SEO, Epochta.ru
• Social Media Optimization: Are You Sure You're Using It Effectively?, Manish Pandey
• Weekly Search Buzz (20 July 08), ankitrawat.com
• Your "Perfect" Match [Type], SEM Basics
• Google a por la indexacin de audio como texto, adseok.com
• Google Indexing Audio Files?, dillseed.net
• Google undergoes huge changes, Bloggle
• Link Building Team Reading List 7.21.08, Pole Position
• Yahoo Flashes Google Back at Marketer Insight for Online Marketing ROI and Results, MarketerInsight.com
• Yahoo!! Introduced Sitelinks, ankitrawat.com
• How the face of video content will change in years to come, eCashTalk.com

This weekend, I kept on getting warnings that my disk was almost full. The warning said I should delete files that I don't use, because it can seriously impact my computer's speed.

So, first thing I did was break out my external video drive and set up a symbolic link in iMovie. So now, I will be 100% running my videos off this drive. In the past, I just moved the "iMovie Events" to the external drive, but now I set up the "iMovie Projects" to be on the external drive. For that, I had to set up a symbolic link from my local folder to the external folder - the iMovie Event thing was drag and drop, this required some UNIX knowledge.

So I freed up 3GB that way. I then remembered that I don't use parallels anymore. And I remember that file took up over 7GB, so I moved the "winhd" file to the video drive, just to archive it and Now I have ~11GB of space available.

I keep pushing off getting a new laptop, this one is just about two years old. But it runs very slow, especially with all the videos I do. I hear new MacBooks are coming soon, so we will see. I really don't want to upgrade just yet, so I need a big excuse.

Today is the day that I say goodbye to my original iPhone. I am shipping it out to my brother, who lives in Israel.

I had my original iPhone 376 days. I had my new iPhone for only 10 days. In fact, I got my old iPhone on July 11th and my new one on July 11th - just realized that now.

In any event, I don't think Israel is a supported country for the iPhone. So what he does with it there, is up to him.

I know people in Israel have the iPhone and use many of its features. I do hope Israel begins to support the iPhone officially, soon. I hope I can get AT&T at a normal data rate when I travel there sometime in January 2009 - for SMX Israel. ;-)

Goodbye original iPhone. I am sending you to a better place now and I am sure you will be treated well. ;-)