datuk’s ramblings

I admit it. I am a WebmasterRadio junkie. Not only do I listen to many of the live shows that they do on a weekly basis, I also find myself listening to archived shows as well. I absolutely love it. It allows me to not only keep abreast of the latest happenings in my industry very quickly, it also allows me to hear the audible voices of many folks that I already know online or have met in real life. If you frequent any of the popular search marketing forums or blogs or have attended conferences such as Search Engine Strategies, PubCon, AdTech and others, then surely you have heard of WebmasterRadio as well. In my opinion, they are very quickly becoming the audible voice of the search industry.

We already have a vast array of sites on the subject search engines and search. These include blogs, forums, resource sites and the like. Many have been around for years nöw, especially sites like Search Engine Watch which has been online since almost the birth of the search engines themselves. Even the trade shows have been around for quite some time nöw. However, lacking was a way to bring people together with audio and live chat outside the realm of a costly trade show or forum. That is where WebmasterRadio.FM fills the void.

WebmasterRadio is the creation of Daron Babin and Brandy Shapiro Babin, who are not only husband and wífe but partners in business. They officially launched in November 2004 at a Yahoo Party that was held during one of the PubCon conferences. It all started with a single show entitled RainMaker, an Internet radio broadcast that gained such favorable response from listeners and advertisers that more shows were soon added out of necessity. Daron and Brandy’s goal in establishing WebmasterRadio is to not only get info from industry leaders to help people in their business but also to bring people together and connect them through live broadcasts and chat. They have done this very well with more shows and listeners coming on board all the time.

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There are geeks and there are nerds, so the Eighties told us (dorks and dweebs, too, but these have yet reach to any type of social prominence). You may have guessed by now that I’m a nerd - I like to study. Google Scholar’s new addition, then, will just increase the hours I spend in ancient civilizations — for another, their time in quarks.

Yes, Earthlink says “a geek gets it done and a nerd doesn’t,” but keep in mind who said it. Nerds get plenty done, we just can’t express it in zeroes and ones.

For example, given a day or two with Google Scholar’s new feature that allows researchers to keep up with the latest research (look to the top right to find the link to “Recent articles”), I can tell you the latest findings on the type of alchemy used by the Oracle of Delphi, or the works of Flavius Josephus.

Or even, if I’m lucky, the latest discussions of Borges’ intriguing character Droctulft… currently there are only four discussions of our loveable barbarian, so surely someone in the future will bring him up?

Google software engineer Dejan Perkovic explains the new feature:

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Through a special website hosted at Yahoo, visitors can pledge to take energy-saving measures that may help improve the quality of life on Earth.

If you have considered switching to compact fluorescent bulbs for lamps in the home, or simply turning off the computer when it’s not going to be used for several hours (yes, there are people who do that), Yahoo wants people to pledge to practice those habits at its Earth Day website.

“We are hopeful that Yahoo!’s Earth Day campaign will illustrate that if we act as a global community, together we can make a difference,” Meg Garlinghouse, director of Yahoo! For Good, the company’s community relations initiative, said in a statement.

The website makes use of several Yahoo services in conjunction with its Earth Day observation. Yahoo Answers lets users view and answer climate change and Earth Day questions; each “best” answer receives a chance to win a free trip to this summer’s World Cup in Germany.

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Google Calendar opened an API for developers; Scholar received a new feature; and the AdWords team reminded everyone, again, there will be some downtime this weekend.

Yes, it’s time for that old journalistic standby where we take three little stories, combine them into one longer story, and make you the reader think we’re both resourceful, brilliant, and insightful.

Since WebmasterWorld’s PubCon Boston ended this week, the talk of the online community, at least the part that finds the search industry more interesting than 24, has been Google and its amazing financial results.

But we’ve covered those numbers already. Google’s a money magnet and the big dog in search advertising. Been there, done that, got the commemorative t-shirt and ate the commemorative burger. We’re full.

Google has offered a few other noteworthy items this week. In opening an API for Calendar, Google permits client applications to view and update calendar events in the form of GData feeds.

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