EUREKA! SEO GURU AT SES

Day Two at the Search Engine Strategies Conference (SES) in New York launched with a brilliant keynote address by Avinash Kaushik, author, blogger and Analytics Evangelist for Google.

If you can manage to hire away this brilliant mind from Google, do it! Avinash's take on the use of data analysis to build on business intelligence was short of super-genius.

At one point, the SEO Guru used Kodak as an example of poor (very poor) search marketing, focusing on the lack of keyword intelligence by their marketing department. If Kodak was in the audience they got a free analysis and examination of their search tactics (or lack thereof).

Go out and buy his book, Web Analytics 2.0 now.

Unfortunately, the afternoon keynote panel qualified for a big YAWN as the audience trickled out of the ballroom in search of caffeine. Topic -- Video Marketing. Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus and part of the panel, attempting to start controversy, was trapped by a mediocre moderator and fellow panelists. Sorry, Ian.

Rounding out the day, a session on "Selling The C Suite" helped bring life back to the day with thoughtful tips by Kevin Lee, CEO of Didit and Fionn Downhill, CEO at Elixir Interactive. Suggesting what motivates the C suite --- Greed, Fear, Vanity, Loss and Competition were top of mind for Kevin. I would have added blackmail to the list!

YOUR DATA .... YOUR PRIVACY

Current web searches, even when anonymized, can still reveal personal information about the user.

Over a new quantum version of the Internet now being developed, search engines could return queries to users .... and with the assurance that no one has copies of the data.

A new kind of memory storage, required by quantum searches, is already being demonstrated in the laboratory.

The development of a quantum Internet is a new wake up call that will, in five to ten years, turn data providers, aggregators and behavioral marketers on their ears.

As the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room, Google stands to be most affected by these developments and will likely turn to a tiered business model that will require paid search, by the searcher, for it to remain profitable.

Free "search and surf" may continue to thrive for some time next to a paid model but it is only a matter of time before the use of the Internet will begin to mirror that of cable .... free search for those that are not concerned about privacy and paid search for those that want to maintain privacy.

It's my opinion that privacy will eventually trump free "search and surf".

How all this will affect the future of our business remains to be seen. Quantum technology requires the use of quantum computers which are yet to be developed and a new type of data storage (quantum RAM).

For a more technical overview of quantum Internet initiatives and data collection, read the article in the October 2009 edition of Scientific American.