I wanted to wait until the Google Group was going well, but that's really the best place. Over the 500+ posts that I've done, I average 60+ comments per post, so I just can't respond to every person with a question. :( The group is much more likely to get help from fellow webmasters or Googlers.

Matt,

I don't blame you. Hopefully it will help.

The problem with GG is that a lot of webmasters are wary of Google watching over them. And considering the Googlers rarely actually post there, there's really no benefit to posting there besides other forums. I still post there regularly but unfortunately our situation can't be figured out by anyone; googler or not...

Well if people start using it as a resource, then it'll bring the attention on its own. Kind of a circular argument but true. Once it becomes a destination for a lot of people, it'll attract more resources.

"And considering the Googlers rarely actually post there, there's really no benefit to posting there besides other forums."

Sam I Am, you'd get more attention from Googlers than you would if you posted a comment on Matt's blog. Even if they rarely are seen as active posters, it doesn't mean that they aren't reading. As Susan Moskwa said in a recent Google Groups post: "A lot of what Googlers do on this forum is 'silent' (we take back your feedback/suggestions to our teams,
investigate problems that you report, etc., and we don't usually post
an update every time we do so).' That means you have their attention.

My point was to say that it's better to post in the Google Groups than on Googler Matt Cutts's blog. Either way, you're getting exposure from Googlers, but one is a better method of communication than the other.

I realize it is a better medium than Matt's blog, but you can tell when posting there that there is an inherent fear of posting in Google's backyard. This is the company we all love, hate and fear at the same time, so I don't think that's so strange. But it does mean that a lot of the people that have been in the business for years don't post there and take their advice elsewhere. If you are looking for the silent Google treatment, that can be found on any of the other big forums too :)

Like I said though, I still post there.

Guys correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t a blog a one way street? It is only be of Matt’s close association to Google that he gets all that attention.

Matt is pretty popular now. He could probably leave Google and start a turnip farm and people would still read his blog.

The Google Group is no better or worse than other discussion groups from what I have seen. It has a high noise-to-signal ratio already from Toolbar PR afficianados and other purveyors of SEO myths.

I long encouraged Google and other search engines to take an active role in Webmaster communities by starting their own forums, but I think they should spend a little more time responding to the technical questions.

I tried asking some simple Google Maps questions about the newly released MyMaps and was torn apart in there. It was a sad display of Google Maps members.

I took advantage of Google groups and was laughed at.