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The keynote speakers for Search Engine Strategies Chicago have just been posted to the website for the SEM conference. And check out the heavy hitters:
• Lawrence Lessig, the Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, is giving the opening keynote on Monday, Dec. 8;
• Bill Tancer, the General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise, is giving the morning keynote on Tuesday, Dec. 9; and
• Josh James, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Omniture, is giving the morning keynote on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

That’s quite a line up. Or, as my good friend Anne Kennedy, the Managing Partner of Beyond Ink and a member of the SES Advisory Board, says, whether you’re a “seasoned search maven or hopeful newbie, you’ll find speakers who share expertise, new research, horizon’s edge views and knuckles-in-the code tactics” at SES Chicago.

Take Professor Lessig, for example. For much of his career, he has focused on law and technology, especially as it affects copyright. He is the author of Code v2 (2007), Free Culture (2004), The Future of Ideas (2001) and Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999). He was also a columnist for Wired, Red Herring, and the Industry Standard.

According to a recent article by Kim Heart in The Washington Post, Professor Lessig is among the signers of a letter that went to the Barack Obama and John McCain campaigns. The letter was also signed by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

The letter asked the candidates to insist on using a new method to choose debate questions. While that job is usually left to the media host, the members of the “Open Debate Coalition” say they aren’t “hard-hitting enough.”

Instead, they want to let people submit questions, then vote on their favorites, over the Internet. The top 25 questions would have the potential of getting asked during the debates.

“This cycle’s YouTube debates were a milestone for Internet participation in presidential debates,” the letter said. “But they put too much discretion in the hands of gatekeepers. Many of the questions chosen by TV producers were considered gimmicky… and never would have bubbled up on their own.”

So, do you think what Professor Lessig says at SES Chicago will be on the mid-term? All I know is that I can’t wait for the Q&A following his keynote.

The following day, Bill Tancer takes the stage. He’s the author of “Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters.”

Bill, who I’ve known for years, is the author of a weekly online column for TIME, “The Science of Search.” He is a frequent guest on CNBC, and has been quoted extensively in the press, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and Business Week.

Bill recently had a “naked lunch” with Andy Greenberg of Forbes.com. Hey, I didn’t make this up. Click on “We Are What We Google” and read the article for yourself.

In the article, Bill is quoted as saying, “What I find really fascinating is how much we tell search engines – more than we tell surveys, more than our family members, more even than our priests or rabbis.”

Are you skeptical of this claim? Bill backs it up with his analysis of searches beginning with “fear of.” It reveals search engine users are afraid of flying, heights, clowns, intimacy and death, in that order.

Looking at searches beginning with “how to,” he observes that the phrase “how to tie a tie” edges out “how to have sex” and “how to kiss” for the top spot.

And Bill’s analysis of searches beginning with “why” shows that most queries are related to school projects. But these fall sharply during the summer and Christmas holidays. During those periods, more existential questions like “Why did she leave me?” and “Why did God do this to me?” pop to the surface.

But wait! There’s more! The following day, Josh James is the keynoter.

James co-founded Omniture in 1996 and, under his leadership, it has evolved into one of the fastest-growing publicly traded software companies with more than 4,700 customers across 75 countries and over 1,100 employees. His market vision, leadership and entrepreneurial philosophy have enabled Omniture to achieve greater than 75% growth for more than five consecutive years, as well as to maintain customer retention rates of greater than 95%.

James is also the founder of Silicon Slopes – a private sector initiative whose mission is to promote the interests of high-tech in Utah. A recent article by Tom Harvey in The Salt Lake Tribune said that the Omniture CEO was motivated to found Silicon Slopes in 2007 to change the misperception that Utah is “A quirky state at the edge of the desert dominated by a single religion and defined by its far-right politics and weird liquor laws.”

For example, Siliconslopes.com is sending out thousands of promotional posters this year that depict the Silicon Slopes running along the Wasatch Mountains from Logan to Provo, listing an array of high-tech companies with operations here, as well as ski resorts and signs pointing to Moab and other attractions.

While I haven’t met Josh James yet, I did interview Huw Roberts of Omniture earlier this year at SES London. Roberts talked about the importance of web analytics to effective search engine marketing for businesses of any size.

Huw Roberts, Omniture, at SES London 2008

There you have it: The keynote speakers for Search Engine Strategies Chicago.

And I’ve got to agree with Anne. Whether you’re a “seasoned search maven or hopeful newbie, you’ll find speakers who share expertise, new research, horizon’s edge views and knuckles-in-the code tactics” at SES Chicago.

Click Forensics has announced a new feature for its solution for advertisers. The feature enables brands to identify and track campaigns that are unlawfully using their trademarked terms. Click Forensics says the trend of trademark infringement in pay-per-click advertising and growing, and marketers need the ability to address the problem more quickly.

“The impact of trademark infringement in search advertising goes beyond consumer annoyance,” said Paul Pellman, CEO of Click Forensics. “It’s affecting the advertising budgets of major brands as they’re forced to spend more money to get the high-quality search traffic that is rightly theirs. We’re helping to change that by giving brands a tool they can use to fight back.”

What do you think of the new feature? Let us know in the comments.

Related Reading:
Lycos Partners with Click Forensics to Improve PPC Quality

Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) is okay with the Google-Yahoo deal, but he wants the DOJ to keep a close eye on the implementation. In a letter to Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett, Kohl, Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust urges:

Recognizing the nascent and fast-changing nature of this marketplace, we encourage the Department to continue to monitor the state of competition in this industry, whatever the outcome of its current investigation. If, over time, you determine that Google is gaining a dominant market position as a result of the Google-Yahoo agreement, then we would encourage the Justice Department to intervene to protect competition. Even should you conclude at present that this deal is not contrary to antitrust law, the Department must be sure that this deal never in the future crosses the line into an unacceptable, anti-competitive collaboration among competitors which will harm consumers and advertisers.

Kohl also acknowledged both the fears of advertisers and the assurances of Yahoo and Google. I think it’s prudent to let the deal go through, but to watch as the program unfolds to see if anti-competitiveness occurs.

What do you think?

h/t Reuters

Run, don’t walk, to your favorite bookstore and pick up a copy of Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company’s Web Site (2nd Edition). Okay, okay, so most search engine marketers will simply order the paperback on Amazon.com. But, somehow 1-click ordering takes all the drama out of buying the latest book by Mike Moran and Bill Hunt.

And if you don’t believe me, check out what Lee Odden, the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing and author of the Online Marketing Blog, has to say: “With Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Bill Hunt and Mike Moran have successfully updated what is already known in the industry as ‘The Search Marketing Bible.’ With new content, examples, and insight including social media and Web site search, this is a must read book for marketers at companies of all sizes from startups to the Fortune 100.”

I interviewed Bill about the new edition of the book back in August at Search Engine Strategies San Jose. And I’ve been keeping the video interview under wraps — until today. You can watch it below — before getting your hands on your very own copy. And, yes, this will be on the mid-term exam.

Greg Jarboe interviews Bill Hunt about his new book

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I guess Yahoo possibly talking with AOL again and launching a brand new advertising platform were not enough to ease opinions on the current state of Yahoo. Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Agrawal does not have a lot of faith in Yahoo right now. He maintains his hold status on the stock, and places the value at $21. That’s quite a bit less than the $31 Microsoft was offering to acquire Yahoo earlier this year.

Agrawal writes, “We believe that the fundamentals at YHOO are deteriorating. On the one hand, economic headwinds and turmoil in the financial markets are causing weaker display ad revenues. On the other hand changes with the minimum bid with search and a possible GOOG/YHOO deal are causing an outcry among many advertisers. To further complicate the situation is an ongoing loss of talent which might accelerate with renewed restructuring efforts. We don’t see any near-term upside in the shares of YHOO on a fundamental basis.”

Sounds like deal or no deal, Yahoo is screwed at the moment. What do you think?

via Barron’s h/t AllThingsD

Related Reading:
Google Launches Facts Site About Yahoo Search Ad Partnership

Facebook’s market share is up 50% year-over-year, according to data released by Hitwise. myYearbook.com saw a 256% growth, propelling it into the third spot for most visited social network sites in the United States in August 2008. Still, they only had 1.65% of the total share.

MySpace lost market share, 10% to be exact. But it still holds the number one spot at 67.54% of the market.

Here are the charts:

Related Reading:
5 Million Users Hate the New Facebook? No Problem
Less is More: What Social Media and Electronics Can Teach the Establishment
Social Media is Key Component of Back-to-School Marketing Supply List
Facebook and Hi5 Lead Global Growth Among Social Networks

Riding the subway, hopping the ferry, and catching the train just got easier in the New York City metropolitan area. Google Maps has added comprehensive transit directions for the region, which includes data from:

• Metropolitan Transit Agency (MTA)
• The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
• New Jersey Transit
• City of New York

To check out the new NYC info, click here.

Writing on the Official Google blog, Chris Harrelson, Tech Lead & Creator of Google Transit said, “Transit is a vital part of the infrastructure that makes cities run efficiently, and can help mitigate congestion, environmental concerns, and increasing energy costs. But until recently, access to that information has been more difficult than it needs to be. Even very prominent train and subway stations were often omitted entirely from maps in many cases. And as for bus lines, well, forget about it! This lead us to the fundamental goal of the Google Transit project: make public transit information as easy to find as any other geographic information.”

Related Reading:
18 U.S., 3 International Systems Added to Google Transit
Google Maps for Mobile Adds Public Transportation Directions
Google Adds Transit Data to Maps
Google Labs Quietly Releases Transit Trip Travel Planner for Portland, Oregon

One of the things that I like best about the Internet is how easy it is to exchange information with other people. One of the most informative and interactive ways to do so is by becoming involved in various forums. In terms of search engine optimization, there are countless forums out there from [...]

Google has made some adjustments to the blue “My Location” circle on the mobile version of its mapping product.

If you’re in a metropolitan area, the circle will be smaller. If you’re in a rural area, the circle will become bigger. The reason behind the change and the sizes has to do with cell tower triangulation.

Google gathers data from cell towers near your phone to determine your location. If you’re in an urban or suburban setting, you’re likely to be close to more towers, giving Google the ability to pinpoint your location more precisely. If you’re out in the boondocks, you have access to fewer or maybe just one tower, so the location is more approximate.

What do you think about the change? Let us know in the comments!

Related Reading:
Google Adds “My Location” Search Feature to Windows Mobile Devices
Google Opens Location-Aware Application to 3rd Party Developers
Google Maps for Mobile Adds Public Transportation Directions