The past two days, as many as you know, I have been covered SES Toronto. The main takeaways from the conference, at least in terms of new items, includes;
(1) Google launches new Sitemaps with a spam feature. (2) The Searcher Behavior Research Update session is always interesting, but this time it was mostly focused around relevancy and which engine is most relevant and why. I have an interesting (I think) entry on Is Google Search More Relevant Or Is There A Brand Factor?
Those are the two main "take aways" from the conference, here is the complete run down on sessions.
- Danny Sullivan's Keynote
- Search Marketing in Canada: Roundtable
- Search Engine Friendly Design
- Searcher Behavior Research Update
- Ad Agencies & Search
- Targeting Search Ads By Demographics & Behavior
- Meet the Crawlers
- Fun With Dynamic Sites
Now for the ride back, since you know about ride options to Toronto, the ride back I took 17, instead of NYS Thruway. Just a bit more turns and stuff, same deal I think with time. But check this out. I get to the border and they ask for ID, etc. like they always do. They ask me to turn off my car, give them my keys and open the trunk. I do exactly what they say and they search and find nothing. Now they ask me to pull into a garage, as a "random check." I do, they lock me in this garage, and ask me and my friend a few more questions. They look up to make sure the car is actually registered to me, which it was. Then they let me go. I drive a nice car, and I think they thought I stole it, because who in there right mind would drive from Toronto to the NYC area with a car like that?
They were right. I pulled out of the garage and got back on the highway, hit 65 MPH and bang, some rock hit my windshield. This is common, but this time, I notice a crack in the windshield. The windshield remains solid, so I continue to drive. The rest of the 6 hours back, my friend and I guess how long it will take the crack to reach the middle of the windshield (yes we were bored). So this AM, the crack is twice as large and I need to wait for the Lexus shop to open up to check how much it will cost to fix. I guess it is a good thing, since the windshield is filled with bug splatter from the 1,000 mile commute back and forth, trust me the windshield is covered with bug juice.
That is my story - the hotel was sweet, the conference was nice, and overall it was a fun experience like last year.
