Barry is still in Israel, which is awesome because I like taking charge of the blog. Of course, he's posted a bit, but to be fair to his family, he's left the busy work to me. [Un]fortunately, it's all coming to an end since he's headed back to America this weekend, so you'll see more of his smiling face next week.
SphinnCon Israel 2008
The biggest news on that front, obviously, is Barry's successful conference, SphinnCon Israel 2008. As you can tell, a lot of people showed up and had a great time. It looks like I've missed something awesome. Maybe next year (hint hint!)
SEMMY Awards
We finally saw the first SEMMY awards earlier this week and I won one in viral marketing. Thanks all who voted!
Google Urchin 6.0 is in Beta
Tamara Micner from Google emailed me earlier this week to let me know that Google Urchin 6.0 is in beta. It's not much different than Google Analytics except that you can host it on the server side. That benefits companies who want an analytics platform but who don't want to have Google know their information. The cost is a bit high ($2995), but if you're looking for that kind of security, it's a win for you.
Google Fights Against Microsoft/Yahoo
It looks like Google isn't too happy with the proposed Microsoft-Yahoo merger. Senior VP David Drummond wrote a scathing blog post about the "future" of the Internet should the acquisition go forward. For what it's wroth, Microsoft may have to borrow money to make it happen, so will it? Let's see.
Microsoft to Change the Face of Advertising
Microsoft will be improving its advertising model and it won't be focused on search. Instead, it will be more cognizant of users' browsing habits, embedding advertisements where you're likely going to browse. It actually sounds very cool.
Google Docs Comes Out with New Features
My good friend Micah Lemonik gave me the tip that his team has come out with some awesome features this week. Google Docs now supports forms and frozen columns. Very nice work, guys.
Yahoo Search Marketing January 2008 Features
There's been an update to Yahoo Search Marketing in January: a keyword generator, conversion based ad optimization, and more. Nice!
Mardi Gras and the Chinese New Year
Earlier this week, Search Engine Roundtable celebrated Mardi Gras. Then yesterday, Google and Ask celebrated the Chinese New Year. Happy holidays!
Microsoft Live Search Update
Due to some rankings changes, webmasters suspect a Microsoft Live Search update. Have you seen anything strange?
Google Trends and Super Tuesday
It's interesting to see the correlation between Google Trends and Super Tuesday's results. While not 100% accurate, you can get a lot of statistical information about who wins in the primaries from tools like this. What do you think?
Have a happy weekend, all!
