Greg Hartnett

A couple of months ago, I stumbled across some funny photos in Flickr. Some people had taken some “I crush your head” photos, and created a group - a tribute to an old Kids in the Hall skit. I got a kick out of it, saw some traffic opportunities, and took some pictures of my own (these pics have brought me over a thousand visitors, BTW).

Somebody in the group had pointed out that last week, Yahoo’s The 9 had run a spot about the Flickr group. Too funny - unfortunately none of my pics made the video spot. Aside from the fact that the name seems like a rip off of Scoble’s Channel 9, I am impressed with the offering. Though the product seems a little cheesy now (that girl reminds me too much of the ever-annoying Jillian Barberie), I admire the effort, and I think they’ll improve upon it over the months to come.

I have become more and more impressed with Yahoo over the last six months. Their bold 2.0 strategy seems to be making significant strides, and I would venture to guess they will use their recent successes as launching pads for future endeavors.

Until M$FT gets their act together (they will), it appears to be a two pony race. Yahoo and Google battling for the user experience. I find myself becoming more of a Yahoo person that a Googler. Though I believe Google’s search to be superior to Yahoo’s, I think Yahoo beats Google in almost every other contest.

So hypothetically, if you HAD TO choose one site, which would it be - Google or Yahoo?

Regular readers of this blog, and those who know me personally, know how I feel about torture and human rights, in general. I have written here, and on my linkblog, about Guantanamo and various other atrocities committed throughout the ages. Most in the name of safety, freedom, and/or religion.

I stumbled upon some reading tonight, and it compelled me enough to action. Bloggers Against Torture is a site committed to spreading the word about torture worldwide - “A blogger alliance against torture”. So I figured… I blog. I’m against torture. And I signed up.

I also pledged to sponsor them in the 24 hour Blogathon - July 29. Proceeds going to Amnesty International USA. If you are so inclined, the sponsorship process is very easy, and you don’t even have to part with any of your cash right now.

How many jobs have you had? How many jobs or tasks have you taken for which you were completely unqualified?� Back in the day, I was the king of “fake it until you make it”.

Until I started my own company, I made the rounds working for the man. I tried my hand in various industries, mostly white collar, though I was no stranger to menial labor.  I always had high aspirations. I knew that there was no way that I was going to be working in the mail room for a living, and without the fancy Ivy League degree, I was looking at a low ceiling in corporate America. So, I learned pretty quickly that in order to get ahead, I’d need to do a little bull-shitting.

Fortunately, I was born with the gift of gab - a talent further developed by my love of reading. I mastered the art of the interview, and was able to quickly identify the qualifications that I needed to possess, and subsequently portray, in order to get the job. You need somebody with software experience? I got it. Team player? That’s me. Sales experience? You betcha. Supervisory talents? Out the wazoo. Got some puzzles or problems? Bring ‘em on.

By listening intently to what the other person says during the interaction, you should be able to identify what they need to hear in order to close the deal. Nine times out of ten, if you listen properly, they will tell you exactly what they need to hear, and feel, in order to give you what you want. By focusing in on those factors, and manipulating them to your advantage, you should be able to snag the prize.

Sometimes, it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. If you are sharp, and learn quickly, you should be able to fake your way through the first steps. Most of the times, you get some slack for taking on the new role. However, you’ll need to get your shit together quickly, and follow through on your promises.

So don’t be afraid to reach for the golden ring. Go for that job or project that is completely above you. Start the journey- maybe you’ll try, fail, and even get fired. Better than wasting away in mediocrity.

For those of you in the SEO industry, Shoemoney has become a pretty popular name. For those of you in the real world, Shoemoney is the pseudonym of affiliate marketer extraordinaire, Jeremy Schoemaker. I met Jeremy at SES San Jose 2005, and we really hit it off. I remember that he had brought his mother-in-law with him to the show, and I thought that was pretty cool. We had a bunch of drinks, talked some shop, and have stayed in contact ever since. I now count Jeremy as not only one of my work acquantainces, but one of my friends as well, and always look forward to seeing him at the conferences.

Jeremy now hosts the NetIncome show on WebmasterRadio.fm, and was kind enough to invite me to be his guest this evening. We’ll be talking about what’s new in the search industry, million dollar ideas, conferences, BOTW, and much more. The show airs tonight, 6PM EST. If you haven’t tuned in to WebmasterRadio before, you should. Tonight

If there is anything you’d like me to cover, let me know, and I’ll try to squeeze it in. Feel free to call in to the show, or hop into the chat room during the show. I know from previous shows that it can get pretty busy, so get there early.

It would appear that Sifry and company have completed the anticipated redesign of the popular blog search engine Technorati. Though they are a competitor of our blog search engine, I must admit that Technorati is definitely the market leader in technology, quality of product, and market share. They definitely know their shit, and continue to make advances in their offering.

I like the overall layout of the new site, and am digging on the new bells and whistles. While the core functionality remains the same, there are significant upgrades to services, as well as some new features. Instead of trying to go over everything here, simply take a look at the screencast they put together.

Kudos to the entire Technorati team. I look forward to trying to catch you.

Have you heard about WordCamp yet? If you use WordPress to power your blog, you may have seen mention of it on your dashboard (what an awesome feature for those guys) - there has been ongoing discussion for the last two weeks on the WP Blog. Between the off-track posts from the WP hipsters, there seems to be some useful information.

I have decided that since I am now only a couple hours away from San Francisco, I will try to make the trip down on the 5th. I love the idea of meeting some new people and finding out about all the cool shit going on at WP. I have been a huge fan of the WP platform for awhile now, and the WP community intrigues me as well. The people behind the whole project seem particularly smart and interesting, and it will be nice to put some faces with the names that have become so familiar to me.

The only wrench in the works being my pending trip to San Jose on the 7th. The SES show starts that Monday, and I was hoping to just cruise down early that morning. We have a new booth that is going to kick ass (goodbye to the bed sheet booth), and I’d like to arrive in time to help with the assembly. So, if I can figure out what to do about the time gap, and the extra days away, I will definitely make sure to attend.

If you plan on attending WordCamp, let me know. I’d love to get together and talk shop, and/or anything else that you find interesting. Additionally, if you plan on being at SES, please make sure to stop by the BOTW booth - we’ll have a cool new booth, lots of t-shirts, and discounts on all products and services. Hope to see you.

As I sit here this morning, catching up on some work related reading, I have CNN on my office TV. Of course the big news is the crisis taking place in the Middle East, and the talking heads have no shortage of theories to explain the controversy. The one thing I have yet to hear though is the role of the US in the growing hot-bed. Outside of the occasional discussion of whether or not the US will get involved (only if Israel asks for help), there seems to be no discussion of the responsibility of the US in the conflict.

Let us not forget that were it not for the US military industrial complex, the conflict in the Middle East would be fought with sticks and stones. Almost 80% of all casualties thus far have been civilian - women and children killed with missles and bombs manufactured here in the USA. Pennies per share for Lockheed Martin, earned with the blood and tears of brown women and children. A smalll price to pay to help hit the earnings numbers.

As the violence continues to escalate, and the troops progressively mount on the border, I wonder how this will turn out. How many additionl lives will be lost? How many shells will drop on Haifa, destroying families and infrastructure? How many Lebanese refugees will flee for their lives? Where will all these innocents go, and who will take them in? Who will be the first to flinch and proceed towards a peaceful resolution?

Further reading:

The Real Ugly American - Lebanese Government is Complicit; Cowardly

Shandyking - WWIII Has Started - Be Afraid, Very Afraid

HomeboyMediaNedws - Refugees find safe haven in Cyprus

NY Times - US Plan Seeks to Wedge Syria From Iran

A Gathering of Fools - Children Always Die

Safe and sound in sunny California. Thus far, the move has been a success - the only hitch when my POD was delayed for a day. Regardless of my yelling and screaming at any rep I could get, the delivery of my worldly possessions arrived one day late - providing not much more than a minor irritation for me and mine.

With my phones scheduled for installation tomorrow, my new home office is up and running. Though I’ll still need to properly furnish it, after tomorrow’s visit from Sure West, I should be rocking and rolling. It’s nice to be able to catch up with work, and get back into somewhat of a routine.

My digital camera is still packed away in some box, so I have not yet been able to take any pictures of the new pad. Once I locate it, I will shoot away.

I am very grateful that the move went pretty smoothly, and I plan on not doing it again for at least a decade. I once read some list of the most stressful things in life, and I recall moving being on that list. Now I know why…

I have always been a pretty avid reader. Encouraged to read at an early age, I spent many a childhood afternoon laying around the house reading a good book. I always saw my mother reading, and at the age of 11 I started dipping into her stash. It started off innocently enough, with a taste of William Golding and the occasional dose of Stephen King. Before too long I stumbled upon classics ranging from Faulkner and Hemingway to Salinger and Orwell. For my twelveth birthday I received the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I was officially hooked.

Fortunately, I have carried my love of reading into adulthood, and I actively encourage my little ones to read as much as they can. I find that I feel better about myself, and my brain actually functions better when I turn off the idiot box and grab a book to read. Now a bit more than half way through the year, I have finished reading 15 books - an assortment of business and other non-fictional offerings.

Hopefully after my move is complete, I will be able to resume a less frantic lifestyle, and get back to my books. So what are you currently reading, and would you recommend it to others?